《Last of the Mage-Kings》 Prologue Somewhere in the ocean. Agnor wept in his cabin. What else could he do but weep? It was all over. The Continent was gone, sunk beneath the seas. Tarminas, Kingdom of the Magi and his home, drowned with it. All his friends, his relatives, the works of his predecessors¡­ And now, all that was left of Tarminas was contained in one ship. They could neither hide nor run from the doom. Not even magic could save them, for the Towers that calmed the magic of the world were destroyed, their destruction causing this disaster. Any attempt to teleport or create a safe haven by magic was met with chaotic backlash. Magic had grown out of control. Their last chance was the sea. Thus, five ships left their last surviving port before the destruction of the Continent claimed that too. Aboard those ships lay the treasures and heirlooms of the kingdom, and as many important figures, magi, personnel and civilians as they could save. But even the sea gave no safety. When the last mountains sank under the waters, the sea churned and thrashed with deadly tidal waves. Four ships sank under the merciless tides. Agnor was aboard one of them. He, a royal councillor, stood beside the king and his retinue aboard the royal ship when the waves came. He tried. Tried to save the king. But he couldn¡¯t, not without magic. All he could grab was the Staff of Kings before the king was pulled down by debris... He was the only survivor of the four ships, picked up by the last one as he struggled to remain afloat. Now they were low on supplies and stuck in the storm-ridden sea with no port in sight, it was only a matter of time¡­ Shouts of tidal wave came from the deck, followed by the mad scramble of people as they prepared to brace. ¡®What¡¯s the use? The water is a swift mercy compared to starving¡­¡¯ It won¡¯t be long now. The waters will claim the last memory of their magical kingdom. Tarminas will be gone for good.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Agnor looked at the staff on the table in his room. Pure white and almost two meters tall, topped with a stylised gem of onyx and diamond shaped like a crescent moon. The Staff of Kings was the royal heirloom that only the king could wield. He, himself, almost held that staff once upon a time. But the Mage-King only chose the greatest of three apprentices to inherit, and he was found lacking. His good friend, instead, was chosen while he came to be part of his council. In the last moments of his life and the history of Tarminas, he found some joy in these memories¡­ ¡®No.¡¯ He stood up from the bed. ¡®We won¡¯t end like this.¡¯ He could not save the kingdom and its people. But, perhaps... he could preserve their memory. Resolved, he took the staff from the table and ran. Dodging panicking sailors and magi, he ascended up deck then descended down the ship¡¯s hold where the kingdom¡¯s treasures lay. It didn¡¯t take him long to find his goal amidst the strewn gold and magical treasures in the hold, for it was the largest thing inside here: a great coffin of black stone. Arriving at the coffin and calming himself, he made to open the coffin. Magic was in chaos in the world, but magic items still held some stability. With the power in the Staff of Kings, he was able to open the coffin despite its many wards. Within laid a figure clad in armour, surrounded by treasures.. With no time left, he placed the Staff of Kings inside the coffin and made to seal it. Just as he was about to cast the spell, the ship slowly tipped to a side, causing the hold¡¯s contents to slide towards the walls. Agnor crashed on the wall. The coffin followed, crushing his legs as it fell, and was followed by a deluge of coins and gems. Brushing the treasure away and mustering his last strength, he began casting the spell of sealing. Chaotic magic arced from his hands,burning his fingers. Before they disintegrated, he completed the spell. ¡®It is done.¡¯ His task done and his body losing consciousness, Agnor awaited his end. He cast one last glance at the coffin. ¡®An uncertain future for you, King Aryon. But better that than ours; to drown in the sea with none to mourn our passing. I can only ask Fate to give you a better future than what was dealt to us.¡¯ ¡®Farewell, and please remember us.¡¯ Chapter One: One Day In Slow Wind Village Deep beneath the Endless Southern Ocean In the mysterious lands of the Immortal Jade Continent only the strong survive. Whether one was man or beast, one¡¯s life was forfeit the moment they showed weakness to another. That fact of life is no different underwater than on land. Territory and hunting grounds are constantly fought over by deep-sea monsters of all sizes. The winners reap the rewards, while those losers are, in turn, fought over by the lesser creatures for carrion. Today, then, was no different than any other day. Somewhere in the murky depths of the Endless Southern Ocean, two massive beasts fought over what they perceived to be a valuable thing: a wreck under the water. One monster won, the other lost. The loser fled with its life, yet suffered grievous wounds. It did not leave empty-handed, however, for it held the most valuable item within the wreck: the one that radiated the most Spirit Energy. If it could find a safe place to recuperate and drain the Spirit Energy from this thing, it may yet be able to take revenge¡­
South of Green Blade Forest, near the sea shore. ¡°The rule is: the first to arrive at the scene gets the first rights to the resource. My Green Blade Forest Sect arrived here earlier than any of you. So, clearly, we get the carcass.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh! Ye Xiang was the first to find this Three-Eyed Squid beached on the shore. The Ye Clan will have it.¡± Inner disciple Feng Yan held back the urge to hit the arrogant idiot before him. When the deep sea buoys his sect crafted gave off an alarm, Green Blade Forest Sect wasted no time in sending him and his five-man team of outer disciples to investigate. They were the first to arrive at the scene: on a beach near Slow Wind Village, the body of a great sea monster had beached itself on the shore. The Endless Southern Ocean was filled with all manner of territorial creatures, so sea monster carcasses would float towards the shore time by time. On such an occasion, the local powers would send out teams to see if there was anything to harvest from the corpses. Such bodies were known to hold all manner of rare cultivation resources and materials. Arguments, and even fights, would occur for the right to have them. And such a fight might happen right now. Feng Yan and his team stood before a squad of guards from the nearby Ye Clan, one of the local powers. It took all his willpower to maintain a calm look and keep his hand from reaching for his sword. ¡°You are too shameless. There were no other groups here when we first arrived. Right, village chief?¡± said Feng YanThis narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Slow Wind Village¡¯s chief and three other villagers stood nearby, listening to the argument. ¡°Village chief here will attest to Ye Xiang¡¯s claim. Isn¡¯t that right, old man?¡± said guard leader Ye Xiao. He gave the chief an intimidating glare, causing the village chief to look down. Feng Yan¡¯s blood boiled. This Ye Xiao was knew that this small village chief couldn¡¯t directly offend the Ye Clan and risk their wrath. ¡°Shameless!¡± cried one of the outer disciples. Another chimed in. ¡°The Ye Clan are nothing more than a bunch of bullies!¡± ¡°Only the weak are bullied! Are you saying you¡¯re weak?¡± retorted one guard. ¡°Your sister¡¯s weak!¡± ¡°Shut up! Do you want t-¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Feng Yan waved his sleeves, silencing his side of the banter. ¡°Leave now and pray we do not involve the local governor for this breach of the rules.¡± The guard squad leader, a cocky youth named Ye Xiao, stepped forward. ¡°We won¡¯t leave our claim so easily. Why not duel it out, hm? Only strength matters here; laws and rules matter not before power.¡± He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ¡®I suppose it always ends like this.¡¯ Drawing his sword, Feng Yan spoke in a slow tone. ¡°You shameless guards truly earned this. Come. And when you¡¯re beaten, kindly leave the area.¡± Ye Xiao took up his spear while the others stepped back to make room for the duelists. Both he and Ye Xiao stood at the Foundation realm, but Ye Xiao was on the third level while he was only on the second. He also possessed a Metal Spirit Vein, while Feng Yan had a Wood Spirit Vein. ¡®These were likely the causes for his goading¡¯ thought Feng Yan. ¡®Let¡¯s make him regret it.¡¯ Ye Xiao took the initiative, wasting no time to execute a technique from the get-go. With a great burst of speed, he jabbed out with his spear several times in quick succession. ¡°Iron Talon Strike! Ye Clan¡¯s legacy technique! So senior Ye Xiao was indeed allowed to practice it!¡± ¡°Hah! This will be over quickly.¡± ¡®Legacy technique, huh?¡¯ Parrying the strikes and dodging the rest, Feng Yan was able to close in to execute his own technique. Dancing Blade of the Forest! His sword spun quickly, parrying Ye Xiao¡¯s panicked counterattack and leaving scratches on his breastplate and armguards. Ye Xiao jumped backwards, his arms suffering minor bleeding from the gaps in his armour. It was clear who the victor was from watching the battle. ¡°Your technique was flawed.¡± said Feng Yan cooly as he sheathed his weapon again. ¡°Leave.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get yours in time, sect dog.¡± spat Ye Xiao. He and the rest of the guards left the sandy shore. ___ Some minutes after finalising negotiations, the locals began harvesting the squid carcass. They clearly knew what they were doing, being fishermen and sailors who have lived next to the shores for a long time and seen such corpses before. Slowly but surely, the squid was slowly dismantled. Feng Yan walked around the corpse himself, resisting the terrible stench to inspect the squid¡¯s wounds. ¡®Teeth marks and claws¡­ by the size of them, the attacker was even bigger than this squid. The Endless Ocean sure is- Wait... ¡® He saw something near the squid¡¯s beak. Wrapped around several tentacles was a large object, black in colour. Calling for an outer disciple and a few locals, they cut away the blocking appendages to get at the object. ¡°What is it?¡± asked the outer disciple as he wiped some viscera off the object¡¯s surface. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± replies Feng Yan. ¡°But it looks like a container of sorts. Like a chest. Or a¡­ coffin.¡± Chapter Two: Awakening Under Fire A day? A year? Two hundred years? It¡¯s been too long since I last saw the sun. I hope there¡¯s -still- a sun when I awaken. Will I awaken though? It¡¯s been so long¡­ Maybe I¡¯m alread- Hm! What¡¯s this? A wisp of¡­ magic! Will it be time soon? Yes. Thanks be to the Three, I will see daylight again. What should I say to the king and the council? ¡°Who dares awaken me, King Aryon!?¡± No. Too overbearing. Perhaps ¡°I have awoken at last. Who calls upon my power once more?!¡± Haha. That¡¯s a good one. Yes. Ah! More and more magic is being poured into the coffin. Soon. Soon¡­
Road near the Green Blade Forest, just north of Slow Wind Village Feng Yan was fighting for his life right now. They immediately set off when the reinforcements came. Green Blade Forest Sect truly spared no effort to carry off such a rare monster harvest; One Soul Core practitioner, ten inner disciples in the Foundation level like him and dozens of outer disciples with varying Spirit Gathering levels were sent to aid in the operation. They loaded the squid parts in seven specialised carts that hid the scent of meat and preserved its freshness. Because the carts couldn¡¯t fly, the caravan traveled through the north road towards a village under the Sect¡¯s jurisdiction. Feng Yan and his team were placed in the center, keeping eyes on all of the carts. As for the rest, they were scattered evenly around the rest of the caravan The Soul Core practitioner stood guard on extra cart. The one bearing the black box. The team initially tried opening the box on their own, to no success. They did notice that it absorbed Spirit Energy, but the amount required was too great for their cultivations to muster. When the Soul Core elder saw the box, he deduced it to be valuable and thus ¡°took over the burden of guarding it.¡± There was no arguing with a practitioner on the Soul Core Realm. Feng Yan, for all his genius and status as an inner sect disciple, could not hope to top the strength (and influence) of a man one realm higher than him. So he could only grit his teeth and abandon any attempt at getting merit from this. But now, he was right next to the box, fending off attackers. As the caravan reached the midpoint of their journey, they were ambushed by none other than the Red Wolves bandit group. The infamous Red Wolves had been the scourge of Dragon Border Gate Prefecture for a decade now, raiding small villages and disrupting trade before vanishing away into the hidden passes at the southern foot of the Encircling Serpent Mountains. The area they were in now was far from their usual strike range. But Feng Yan didn¡¯t have time to wonder how they got here so fast.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Most of the bandits possessed cultivations varying at high Spirit Gathering to low Foundation levels. Easy opponents to trained and disciplined sect disciples. But they also brought along two Soul Core practitioners, who wasted no time in attacking their sole Soul Core elder. When the ambush began and the sect disciples were pushed back, Feng Yan and his team retreated to the center of the caravan. Girding his will, he began unleashing technique after technique at the coming bandits. Dancing Iron Wind Blade, Fluttering Leaves in the Wind! His sword swept outwards in arcs, cutting down two Foundation bandits easily. Those who dodged his steel were, instead, sliced by blades of wind that followed the path of his strike. The other disciples held their ground and fought with group tactics, barely holding on. He cut and slash over and over again as the enemy drew close to their stand. Several disciples joined their resistance, and soon the surviving disciples were gathered near the center cart, surrounded by bandits. A flame mystic art shot out from the trees, hitting the cart with the black box and destroying the former. Seeing the box unharmed, Feng Yan hurriedly had the box moved over to serve as cover against ranged mystic arts. Though encircled, the disciple group fought with high morale and tactics. Outer disciples didn¡¯t have a lot of battle strength on their own, so the Sect trained them for group combat. Lead by the remaining nine inner disciples, they pushed the bandits away time and again as they came. Feng Yan ducked as another flame mystic art struck the box. ¡®It¡¯s chaotic but we¡¯ve got the upper hand.¡¯ he thought. ¡®If we can rout these bandits, we can rush over to help elder-¡± There was a flash, and the body of their elder flew out from the trees. Feng Yan felt his heart sink in despair as he saw the elder¡¯s unmoving body broken and bloodied on the floor. ¡°Hahaha. Good fight. That one gave me quite the workout.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say, Captain Gong. I did all the work!¡± The two Soul Core Realm bandits floated over on their flying swords. The one complaining was swathed in brown cloth, hiding his appearance. The other was a bald, rough, muscular man with a bare torso covered in scars. ¡°Green Blade Forest Sect!¡± bellowed the one called Captain Gong. ¡°Drop your weapons and surrender! Unless you want this daddy to crush you underfoot!¡± They still had three-fourths of their outer disciples and nine inner disciples, but even together they could not match the difference between their cultivation realms. One Soul Core practitioner could decimate their ranks with some effort. Two would be a bloodbath. Tall and arrogant, the muscular man approached them at a leisurely pace. ¡°Well, little brats? Must I show you what happens when you don¡¯t listen to your elders?¡± He bent down and took some dirt into his hands, then tossed it forward. The dirt shaped itself into a stalactite of stone as it flew towards the frontmost disciple¡­ ¡°Move!¡± CRACK! Feng Yan panted heavily, but he was able to move the black box forward in time to block the attack. Though it was heavy, his Foundation level physique gave him the strength double that of a regular man. ¡°Hm! To block my attack like that¡­ what an interesting box you got there! I¡¯ll be taking that with the rest as well.¡± boasted Captain Gong. ¡°Could it be a mystic treasure?¡± said the other Soul Core bandit. He leapt over to stand next to his companion to get a closer look, then flung a flame mystic art at the box. The shapeless flame collided with the box and was absorbed into the black sides. ¡°Fascinating.¡± wondered the robed man. He pointed to the disciples. ¡°Let¡¯s drop the act and kill these sect dogs already. I want to research this thing as soon as possible!¡± Feng Yan and the rest of the disciples took up battle stances. Even in the face of death, Green Blade Forest Sect prepared to fight to the end. ¡°Tch. You and your toys.¡± the muscular man spat on the ground and flexed his shoulders. ¡°Alright, boys. Kill the sect dogs an-¡± He interrupted his orders when he saw the lid of the black box slowly slide off. A steel-clad hand pushed off the heavy lid, which fell dully onto the earth. Both bandits and disciples looked on, dumbfounded, as an armoured man stood up from within. Chapter Three: Rude Awakening When the last wisp of magic entered his dream-form, Aryon knew that today was going to be a great day. ¡®Awakened at last!¡¯ He wanted so desperately to just stand up and break out from his coffin, but he had airs to put up; a king shouldn¡¯t act so crudely. ¡®And it is better to savour the moment.¡¯ The wisps of magic came¡­ erratically. They came at small intervals first, then two large bursts finally fulfilled the required amount to give him what he needed: the impetus of reanimation. He felt himself leaving that dark dream¡­ right into another darkness. But this was real and not his dream. He could feel again. A dull and distant feeling, yes, but it was something. ¡®Time for my grand awakening.¡¯ He closed his ¡®eyes¡¯ and raised his hand to push the lid off, mentally focusing on each movement. Ah, to move at last! Slowly, surely, he stood up in a manner he imagined to be dignified and impressive. He slowly opened his eyes, letting that beautiful light to enter his sight once more. Resisting the urge to take a breath, he intoned in his most commanding voice: ¡°I have awoken at last. Who¡­¡± ¡®...are you people?¡¯ He looked around once. Twice. He rubbed his ¡®face¡¯, poking at the hollow eye-slits of his faceguard to remove any blockages. Still he was seeing what he shouldn¡¯t be seeing. He wasn¡¯t in the royal tower, nor an opulent war-tent. There was no king or council members greeting him. Instead there was a forest, a battlefield and a gathering of strange people: dark-haired, slant of eye and wearing foreign equipment. And he was right in the middle of these people. They all stared at him blankly, just as he did. He noted by their clothes that one group was gathered together, while the other surrounded them. All of them had weapons drawn and taken stances. A larger-than-most stranger came forward, pointing at him. ¡°=== == ====? == == === == ====?¡± ¡®A foreign tongue?¡¯ Another man, wearing concealing leathers, began giving commands. ¡°==== =====! ==== ===== == = ===== == ===== ==== ====!¡± Subtly, Aryon wove the fingers on one of his lowered hands. Intoning under his breath, he completed the spell and lightly tapped his armoured thigh casually. ¡°[Comprehend Languages]¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°==eak, you sect dogs! What manner of trick is this?¡± ¡°Captain Gong! Look!¡± The concealed man pointed at his coffin. ¡°Mystic treasures!¡± ¡°Really? Good! Go kill these brats, men! We¡¯ll take these treasures for ourselves!¡± ¡®Take -my- things?!¡¯ The situation was growing out of control. He raised both hands, waving them at the muscled brute. ¡°Now hold on there, we c-¡± Before he could finish a fist collided with the side his armoured helm, sending him flying out of his coffin. ¡®What¡­¡¯ The force of that fist was something a mere mortal could not produce. Though his armour and his current state gave him great physical resistance, even he was a bit dazed from the strike. ¡®Self-strengthening magic? What spell or item does he have to grant him such strength?¡± He flew for a good ten feet, arcing up over the encirclement and crashing on one of the nearby trees. He shook his head to re-orient himself, then stood up whilst dusting the dirt from his armour. ¡°So you can take a punch, huh? That armour of yours must be some great treasure as well.¡± The hulking man and his companion walked towards him slowly and arrogantly. ¡°Be careful, Captain Gong.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be careful about? I can sense no cultivation on him. ¡°His treasures might possess strange powers.¡± ¡°Pah. A man who fights with items only is a weakling. Hey, you! If you discard your armour and kneel before this daddy in surrender, I might just spare you.¡± ¡®Calm down, Arry. Calm down.¡¯ he repeated in his mind. ¡®A king must be dignified.¡¯ He stood up straight and spoke. ¡°There is no need for violence. I am sure you are reasonable and enlightened folk. Cease your hostilities, and we can-¡± Another fist came his way. The hulking man moved too fast for him to catch up with his eyes, and he was knocked backwards onto the tree again. ¡®I keep forgetting that diplomacy works best in a position of strength.¡¯ ¡°Still yapping? Hurry up and remove that armour, or else-¡± ¡°[Forceful Hand]¡± He swung out with his own mailed fist wreathed in ethereal light, connecting with the hulking man¡¯s chest. The brute was sent flying off a fair distance, spitting blood out in the process. The concealed man stood there in shock at the sight. As did Aryon. ¡®That was¡­ stronger than usual.¡¯ Recovering from his surprise, the concealed man wove a spell before him. Tongues of flame shot out from his outstretched arm towards him. ¡®Hm, a mage! A sorcerer, perhaps?¡¯ Aryon saw every step of that spell being formed. Crude and simple yet not lacking in power on average. The stranger didn¡¯t intone any words, and his somatic component involved only a few waves of his hand. He gave him three points out of five. The flames struck Aryon to no effect, his mastercrafted armour flaring up its hidden runic wards to absorb the blow. ¡°You should work on that, student.¡± said he as he gave a dismissing wave at the stranger. ¡°[Hold Person]¡± Cursing, the concealed man prepared another spell, only to find that his entire body had stopped moving. ¡°You will be happy to know that our little conclusion here will end with you leaving unharmed.¡± said Aryon. ¡°You will have to deal with the local authorities, though.¡± ¡®A king should obey the local custom, wherever this place is anyway.¡¯ He picked up the paralyzed man over his shoulder like timber, and proceeded towards the direction of where the battle was still occuring. Chapter Four: Commanding Presence ¡°Keep fighting! Break through!¡± Feng Yan and the inner disciples continued to motivate their desperate group as they cut down the bandits. If they could just break out of this encirclement, some of them could run away and reach the safety of the nearby village. Those left behind will have to face the wrath of those two Soul Core cultivators, but it was better than all of them dying here. And at least their memories would be avenged by the sect. ¡®Let¡¯s hope that weird armoured guy can hold the attention of those two bandit leaders for a while longer.¡¯ The armoured stranger was a surprise to everyone. Who knew that there was someone sleeping inside the box all this time? Though he was an unknown, he wasn¡¯t going to bet the survival of his fellow sect disciples on a stranger¡¯s aid. It was already a godsent opportunity that the two Soul Core cultivators chose to target him rather than them. ¡®We can handle these fodder troops. Just a little bit more time¡­¡¯ ¡° [Mass Hold Person] ¡± A strange voice sounded out from the nearby forest¡¯s edge followed by a wave of blue light that struck every combatant in the battle, paralyzing their bodies. Some stood in place in the stances they were holding, others fell to the ground when they froze mid-jump or were in an awkward position. Feng Yan struggled desperately to move his own body, but there was no response save for his eyes. Not even his Spirit Energy circulated at his command. He stood there frozen in place, staring at the equally-frozen bandit he was about to strike at, who was also moving his eyes desperately. ¡°There. Now, let¡¯s start over.¡± From out the forest¡¯s edge came the armoured man, carrying one of the Soul Core cultivators under his arm. That cultivator, who would''ve been their executioner earlier, was now being lugged around like a sack of rice. ¡®Who the hell is this guy?¡¯ He set down the Soul Core cultivator in a standing position. He then walked over to where he and the rest of the disciples were. ¡®Not good¡­¡¯ With a touch of his armoured hand he unfroze one outer disciple, who collapsed on the ground. He immediately scrambled and kowtowed before the stranger. ¡°Lowly disciple greets reverend elder!¡± He saw the stranger pause, then heard him give a quiet chuckle before continuing. ¡°Who is in charge of your group?¡± The outer disciple peeked out from his kowtow and pointed. ¡°Th-the inner disciples. Over there, reverend!¡± Feng Yan cursed in his heart. ¡®Why point at me directly?¡¯ he thought bitterly as the stranger approached. With nothing else to do, he looked at the figure approaching him. He was tall, at around seven feet, and wore mastercrafted set of polished armour. Not a single part of his body could be seen; even the gaps in the plate had chain-links or white cloth covering the body underneath. He wore an enclosed helm, eye-catching for the faceguard on it styled after an old man¡¯s bearded face. A jeweled circlet of gold was affixed on the helm, and the rest of his armour was similarly bedecked and decorated in gems and gold.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The stranger undid the mystic art on him as he did the outer disciple. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything rash now.¡± he said, as he continued on with freeing the rest of the inner disciples. Eight of them remained now after the fight. The stranger gathered them together and asked: ¡°Now, let''s have a peaceful talk.¡±
Bandits and caravans. Things haven¡¯t changed at all since last he left.''All I need now is a dashing horse as good-looking as me, and a noble lady in the carriage amongst the carts.'' After discussing the situation with these ¡®inner disciples¡¯, he made to help them given their recent sufferings. While others left to bury the dead, he and his new acquaintances bound and secured the remaining bandits. Some of them displayed great feats of strength like that leader of theirs, so they could¡¯ve easily slipped out of their bounds and fled. So he made sure they¡¯d stay put with a bit of intimidation. ¡°Repent for your actions and behave, and you will be shown mercy.¡± he said to the bandits. ¡°Try to escape, and we¡¯ll see if your flight is faster than my power.¡± The other leader, that hulking brute they called Captain Gong, was not here; his strike had caved in his ribs and he died (purely by accident, of course. He never meant to kill him). As for the rest, the bandits (and their secondary leader, who he bound with rope personally) kowtowed and obeyed. ¡®Some respect at last. How refreshing.¡¯ The rest of these ¡®disciples¡¯ (¡®Were they a cult of some sort?¡¯) began repairing their carts and loading what seemed to be meat onto the ones that could still be used. He, on the other hand, went over to his coffin after securing the prisoners. The first thing he caught sight within was a white staff. Aryon froze, then practically dove in as he made to seize the staff. After confirming what it was, he raised it and intoned: ¡°Greater Teleport, Tarminas!¡± Nothing. He tried a second time, yet nothing happened once again. His awkward actions drew the curiosity of the surrounding people, prisoners and disciples alike. ¡®What in the world is going on?¡¯ he thought in his running mind. ¡®Why is the Staff of Kings here?!¡¯ ___ The Staff of Kings was the heirloom of his kingdom, Tarminas. It was the rightful weapon and symbol of power the king wielded. The living king. Aryon was dead. In life, he was the king of Tarminas. He ruled, he fought, and he did his kingly duties respectfully and with full efforts. When he grew old he passed on his titles, heirlooms and and duties to his successor. But before he died, he made a choice to live. To live on as a Relic King. Most of the Continent knew them to be animated constructs, golems of a sort. But they were the undead, brought to unlife with secret, stolen dark magic. Considered to be a necessity in the turmoil of the continent, the Kings of Tarminas could choose to live on as a protector of sorts, to be summoned in times of need. Powerful energies stripped the flesh from their bones and bound their souls onto their skeletons, then they were locked away to sleep, hidden from the world at large until there was a need to see them. Aryon made that choice and became what he was now. And he distinctly remembered giving the Staff to his greatest disciple, as all good Mage-Kings had done before. And he also recalled serving under different kings who also held the same Staff. ¡®So why is it here with me?¡¯ It could only mean one thing: a crisis had happened in the Kingdom. Chapter Five: An Invitation Old Stone Guardian Village, dusk. With the village now in sight, Feng Yan could finally relax. Despite the delays and their¡­ extras, the remnants of the disciple team had arrived at Old Stone Guardian Village just as the sun began to set. He and his team could finally relax and hand over their problems to the waiting elders and seniors there. Feng Yan glanced at one of those ¡®problems¡¯ sitting on one of the carts. Throughout the journey, the stranger who called himself ¡°Aryon¡± sat in silence behind a cart that carried his ¡®coffin¡¯, muttering to himself as he held a mystic treasure staff in his hands. He didn¡¯t engage in conversation, nor did others try and approach this expressionless stranger who wielded great powers. Time by time, he would say some weird words, which echoed and made little sense to their ears. With his earlier display of powerful mystic arts, the rest of the disciples would tense when they heard those words. Still, the rest of the journey passed without incident. Even the bandits were well behaved, cowed by the stranger¡¯s might. Any man who could deal with a Soul Core Realm practitioner so easily as he did was someone you didn¡¯t want to offend. But now that they were in sect territory, Feng Yan felt a burden on his shoulders disappear. Old Stone Guardian Village was a large village within the forest, named after the carved stone statues in the shape of spirit beasts that stood at the place where the village bordered the trees. Facing outwards, these statues were said to ward off the monsters within Green Blade Forest and kept the village safe. No spirit beast attacks had occured in Old Stone Guardian village for decades. But that was likely because of the practitioners in the village rather than the myth. Because of its proximity to Green Blade Forest Sect¡¯s grounds, the sect had great influence in the village, becoming its de facto owners. Even the local chief was a supporter of the sect and had sons in it as inner disciples. Feng Yan entered a dormitory reserved for inner disciples and planned on meditating throughout the night when he heard a knock at the door. ¡°Disciple Yan?¡± said an old voice. Feng Yan leapt up from a lotus position and immediately opened the door. There, he clasped his hands and bowed. ¡°Disciple greets elder Kang.¡± Elder Cheng Kang nodded and spoke: ¡°It is said that you were the one who found the¡­ coffin, was it.¡± He could only nod. ¡®And there goes my free time.¡¯This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Good. Some of your seniors and elders are discussing things with this newcomer. They want you to come over to clarify things.¡±
Meeting Hall in Old Stone Guardian Village Elder Kang nodded in understanding. As the cultivator with the highest level in the village, fifth in Soul Core Realm, he was given the duty of presiding over this meeting with the stranger Aryon. Said stranger asked a question to the inner disciple, their storyteller. ¡°So you found the coffin grasped in the arms- no, tentacles of this... Three-Eyed Squid, you say?¡± Feng Yan nodded. He was a bright boy with great potential, and was personally admitted into the inner sect by his old friend as his apprentice. Because of that friendship, he felt that he had the small responsibility of watching over him. ¡°Preposterous. What would my coffin be doing in the ocean of all places? Unless¡­ Were there any shipwrecks found recently? ¡°Not any near the shore.¡± said one Soul Core elder. ¡°And we cannot search the Endless Southern Ocean. There are too many aquatic spirit beasts.¡± The armoured figure rubbed the back of his ¡®head¡¯. ¡°I will have to trouble you for some lodgings, then, to plan my next steps.¡± ¡®Here¡¯s the opportunity.¡¯ He stood up and spoke this time. ¡°Green Blade Forest Sect thanks you for helping its disciples and bringing those unlawful bandits to justice. We would be happy to provide reverend Aryon with lodgings, but feel that this village is too unworthy for a personage such as yourself.¡± He then cast the line out. ¡°We cordially invite you to stay within our sect grounds, promising to give reverend Aryon the hospitality he deserves.¡± With his words finished, Elder Kang smiled in his heart. ¡®If we can befriend this stranger bearing such powerful items, our sect could only benefit!¡¯ When they first saw him, many of his fellow Soul Core practitioners were so shocked that their jaws slackened. The Spirit Energy radiating from his items alone, especially from the staff, was enough to tell them that they were artifacts near, or even above, Earth-grade items. Mystic artifacts, like cultivation, had realms to denote their power. Each realm was split up into ten smaller levels. There were three realms in total for grading mystic artifacts: Mortal, Earth and Heaven grade, with Heaven being the highest. Green Blade Forest Sect¡¯s grandmaster, the leader of the sect, possessed a second-level Earth grade sword. It was the heirloom weapon of their grandmasters and was coveted by practitioners within and beyond Dragon Border Gate Prefecture. Cheng Kang knew the appeal, having seen the blade itself. Yet a metal boot on one foot of this Aryon fellow radiated nearly the same amount of Spirit Energy as the blade. A strange man with powerful artifacts, who could hide his cultivation from even Soul Core practitioners and dispatch them with ease¡­ he only knew that he must maintain a good relationship with Aryon.
¡®I remember this old trick.¡¯ Wine, dine and provide comforts for the guest. Then extort him for benefits. A classic. ¡®I wish I had the capacity for feeling all that. I could use a bit of spoiling.¡¯ He needed a place of privacy to attempt some things. And he was awfully curious about these people and this foreign land. There was something strange about their bodies and their lifestyle that he just couldn¡¯t puzzle out in a glance¡­ ¡°Very well. I accept your invitation.¡± he said. ¡®I just hope they accept Tarminian Gold here.¡¯ Chapter Six: Green Blade Forest Sect Next Day. Green Blade Forest Sect, main courtyard. Aryon expected a welcoming party, but he underestimated the size of this so-called ¡®sect¡¯. There were hundreds of them waiting there! A sea of green-robed foreigners crowded the spacious courtyard beyond Green Blade Forest Sect¡¯s gate. As soon as they stepped through the archway, that sea of people parted in half to form a path. Ensuring that he had the correct posture, Aryon moved forward, followed by his escort of ¡®elders¡¯ and ¡®seniors¡¯. Green Blade Forest Sect¡¯s grounds were centered around a large hill deep within the forest. Its main structure was a towering pagoda, with lesser residences and storehouses atop many smaller hills surrounding it. Their party was making for that center hill, where the elders of the sect were supposed to welcome him to the grounds. From the gate to the lesser hills on their path he crossed bridges and well-paved roads, passed large training grounds and small man-made pools as well as beautiful trees, gazebos and pavillions. ¡°A beautiful home you have here.¡± he complimented. ¡°Many thanks, reverend.¡± said his guide, the one who called himself Cheng Kang. ¡°Our Green Blade Forest Sect has lived on these hills for generations. All that you see has been a cumulative effort of our outstanding ancestors.¡± ¡°I see.¡± As they approached the area around the main hill the crowds of disciples grew smaller, yet the quality of these ones became higher: their green robes were embroidered, and each had some sort of fine weapon, ornament or accessory. ¡°These¡­¡± asked Aryon, ¡°...Are your inner disciples, yes?¡± ¡°Yes. We are in the inner sect now. You can see our destination there.¡± He could already see the structure and the hill from a distance, but it was much, much bigger up close. A towering and lavishly decorated pagoda ten floors high, with each floor tall and wide enough to house dozens of people. It could very well be described as a tower. ¡°Let us enter, reverend. The sect elders have all received the summons and should be waiting within.¡± ¡°Very well.¡±
The bottom floor of the Sacred Ancestral tower was used for meetings and debates. It was a spacious square room, with stone steps facing inwards to serve as seats for the sect¡¯s important people. Only the Soul Core Realm practitioners of the sect could participate in the meetings. Cheng Kang took his seat beside several other Soul Core elders, ready to watch the procession. In the center of the room on a stone platform stood the stranger Aryon. Opposite him were three personages, seated on thrones just on the platform¡¯s side. These three were the mightiest cultivators in the sect; Nascent Soul cultivators, one realm above Cheng Kang¡¯s own Soul Core cultivation. They commanded both the respect and fear of not just the sect, but all of Dragon Border Gate Prefecture. The strongest of the three stepped forward. This was none other than their grandmaster and the sect¡¯s patriarch, Yang Kai. ¡°Greetings to fellow Dao brother.¡± said the patriarch, clasping his hands and bowing in greeting.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°I greet you, lord of Green Blade Forest Sect.¡± replied the armoured stranger, placing his free hand on his chest and returning. He watched the patriarch size up the stranger, taking explicit glances at his crown and the staff on his other hand. ¡°I have received the message about your request, and have allocated a cave residence befitting an honored elder of our sect to you.¡± ¡°Many thanks, lord.¡± ¡°If there is something else you require from us, now would be a good time to ask. Green Blade Forest Sect will try to fulfill Dao brother¡¯s request as best as they can.¡± Cheng Kang saw the stranger rub his ¡®beard¡¯ in thought. ¡°There are some¡­ materials that I need for a personal task of mine, yes. Might I trouble you to find these for me? I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know the locale very well. Rest assured, I shall pay for these reagents with my own money.¡± ¡°By all means.¡± ¡°Good.¡± said the stranger. ¡°Do you accept gold coins here?¡± A round of murmuring fills the the room, silencing when the patriarch cleared his throat. ¡°Dao brother, gold is only used by mortals to buy their needs.¡± explained the patriarch. ¡°To gain the best materials, you need to pay with spirit stones.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aryon took a second to think. ¡°Then I could use some of these¡­ spirit stones. Perhaps I can trade some of my things for some starting capital?¡± Another round of murmuring fills the room. Cheng Kang¡¯s own eyes lit up at the prospect of receiving one of this stranger¡¯s items. The patriarch wasted no time in pouncing at this opportunity. ¡°We would be happy to trade with Dao brother. What item will you exchange?¡± ''That''s our patriarch. Always quick to seize the moment.'' he thought The stranger nodded, and asked for his coffin to be brought to the room. When he cast his strange mystic art and unsealed it, a few elders stood up to try and see what was inside. Setting the staff down, Aryon used both hands to take out two items from the chest. The room fell silent. Grasped in one hand was a jeweled shortsword with a bar crossguard rather than the usual circular shape. Subtle, esoteric markings adorned the flat of the blade, and the hilt was richly decorated in gold filigree. The other hand held a baton less than a meter in length, made of polished, dark wood with silver etchings and blue gems. There was no doubting the beauty of these mastercrafted things, but what made the elders in the room salivate was their aura of Spirit Energy. Earth-grade weapons! Earth-grade weapons could be considered heirlooms that could never be given away for mere spirit stones. Yet this stranger was willing to trade two of them. A tide of murmuring and gasps swept through the room. Even the other two Nascent Soul elders were whispering to each other fiercely. The patriarch himself maintained his composure, but it took him a few seconds to break away from staring at the offered weapons to stop the noise. ¡°Impressed?¡± said Aryon. ¡°These are my old weapons. I hope I can fetch a good price for these?¡± ¡°Of course, of course, Dao brother.¡± said Yang Kai hurriedly. ¡°Rest assured that we will heavily compensate you for this trade. If it is not enough, consider our treasury doors opened to your requests.¡± Green Blade Forest Sect had accumulated many treasures over the generations it has existed. But even Cheng Kang knew that all of it wouldn¡¯t be enough to buy just one of these weapons. Emptying their vaults, comparably, was an acceptable loss. ¡°Again, many thanks lord.¡± bowed Aryon as he handed them his weapons. ¡°I do have a few more small requests¡­¡± _____ With his requests done, Aryon was led away to his cave residence, taking his coffin with him. After yet another round of murmuring, Cheng Kang rose up to ask the first question. ¡°Revered grandmaster, what was his cultivation?¡± None of the elders who had seen Aryon could discern his cultivation realm. They had hoped that their Nascent Soul masters could see through it. ¡°Can¡¯t tell.¡± Grandmaster Yang Kai shook his head. ¡°I tried to probe him with my spiritual sense, but it was blocked by his armour.¡± The hall erupted into murmurs once more. ¡°And his weapon? What grade was it?¡± asked one Soul Core elder. The grandmaster paused for a moment before saying. ¡°...Heaven grade.¡± Silence. ¡°Do not offend this man.¡± said the grandmaster after giving enough seconds to let the implication settle in. After that, he turned away and began ascending to the top of the pagoda. Chapter Seven: Settling In Cave residence in a hill in Green Blade Dragon Sect. The cave residence he was given was apparently one belonging to a dead elder; the very one that died in the caravan that found his coffin. Aryon felt a little guilty about that fact, but only a little bit. Because he finally had some privacy. The elders said that the residence was not furnished enough ¡®for a lord such as reverend¡¯s status¡¯ and sent for furniture and items to be placed inside. During those few hours he was bombarded praise, questions and subtle requests that he simply waved off. After all the items had been placed, he asked for a bit of ¡®alone time¡¯ and sealed the cave entrance away. Now alone, he could finally focus on his objectives. ¡®Starting with the most important:¡¯ he recounted in his mind ¡®Return to Tarminas, establish contact with Tarminas, secure self and the Staff, create a safe place to stay, learn about the locals, give aid to hosts.¡¯ He had tried the first and second objectives in the usual way, to no avail. Teleportation and its variations had no effect.Neither did his methods of communication garner a response. ¡®Why isn¡¯t it working?¡¯ he thought. It couldn¡¯t be distance; the reach of these spells was said to be infinite. ¡®Something, or someone, must be blocking me then.¡¯ If that was the case, then he had a few ideas on how to breach such barriers. But that needed some time to prepare. ¡®I might as well move down the list.¡¯ Aryon spent the next two days noting down his spells, his resources, his reagents and his gear as well as experimenting with his craftsmanship. He made a big discovery on the first day, when he was doinga focused examinations. ¡®The magic here¡­ is so -pure-. So -plentiful-...¡¯ Magic existed everywhere, but in his lands the levels of mana in the air was never this high. Even in Tarminas, which was located near a locus of power, had slightly lower amounts of magic than here. It was no wonder that the spell he used on that bandit crushed his chest. It may seem like a paradise for a mage, but Aryon knew better. ¡®¡°Places of magic breed monsters¡± as the old saying goes. I saw many strange beasts along the way: parodies of the livestock in my kingdom. Could this land be so saturated in magic that the wildlife had been twisted?¡¯The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. If there were no Towers here in this land, it may be in danger of facing a beastflood as the legends said. But he put these thoughts at the back of his mind. ¡®Let¡¯s finish my lists firsts, then begin brushing up on the local culture.¡¯
Just outside the cave residence.. Feng Yan sat in a lotus position before the imposing figure of Aryon. The armoured figure circled around him with a scroll in hand, muttering. He was surprised, and elated, when the mysterious stranger that caused quite a stir in the sectasked for him some eleven days after he settled in. ¡°The lord wanted an assistant and named you.¡± said the Soul Core elder. Though he was a little disappointed when he heard from Aryon himself that he chose him simply because ''you are of a lower rank. And I remembered your name.'' Before he was packed off to the cave he had been bombarded with requests, favors, commands and orders from outer disciples to even the grandmaster of the sect himself. The gist of it all was to never displease the lord, to follow his commands and obtain as many benefits as he could for the sect (and themselves). ¡°So, let me break down what we just discussed.¡± Aryon placed the scroll and his hands behind his back. ¡°Cultivation¡­ is a quests of sorts, a process to obtain power and immortality?¡± He nodded. ¡°And to achieve these goals, one must pass through six realms of cultivation, with each split into ten?¡± Again, he nodded. Aryon brought the scroll back in his sights, giving it a cursory glance. ¡°Describe to me the first three of these ¡®realms¡¯.¡± Feng Yan cleared his throat and spoke. ¡°The first realm is the Spirit Gathering Realm, where practitioners first learn to turn their bodies into vessels for Spirit Energy. Mortals who begin their journey must first be able to sense the Spirit Energy found in the world and take it into themselves.¡± ¡°And to do this, they must have a¡­ spirit vein?¡± ¡°Yes. One in two people are born with a spirit vein, with others possessing one tied to the Five Elements or special attributes. But only when they achieve the first level of Spirit Gathering Realm are they considered true cultivators. I, myself, possess the Wood spirit vein.¡± ¡°That sounds like a sorcerous bloodline, or wild magic. Continue.¡± He nodded. ¡° The second is the Foundation Realm. With their bodies becoming receptacles for Spirit Energy, they must now temper them and remove the impurities within. Only after that can they move on to the next level.¡± ¡°That level is the Soul Core Realm, With their bodies tempered and cleansed and Spirit Energy gathered, they must now merge these factors by creating a Soul Core. The core is a manifestation of Spirit Energy located in the dantian, half-physical and half-ethereal. When the core is complete, they may attempt to nurture a Nascent Soul.¡± Feng Yan took a short breath of air as he finished his recitation. Aryon nodded and took a seat on a nearby rock as he looked around the area near his cave residence in thought. He muttered to himself, loud enough for Feng Yan to pick up. ¡°How fascinating. I¡¯ve never heard of such methods¡­ though it seems to be too rooted in mysticism and theology.¡± Before he could ruminate on those words, Aryon asked again. ¡°Spirit Energy is everywhere, you say?¡± ¡°Yes. It exists in all things. It can also take different forms, such as the energy of the Five Elements, or holy and devil energy.¡± ¡°Sounds like magic to me.¡± he said. Feng Yan didn¡¯t know what he meant, but he didn¡¯t dare question the important guest. ¡° ¡®Same thing, different name¡¯ to put it so crudely. If that is the case...¡± ¡°One last question.¡± he said, stooping down a little to regard him. ¡°Where can I find a magical beast?¡± Chapter Eight: Setting Out ¡°I want to hunt a certain beast. Can you assemble a small team for me? Five of your disciples will do.¡± When Feng Yan spoke of their guest¡¯s request, the sect elders immediately summoned their disciples in a frenzy. Neither the outer sect nor the inner sect were good enough for the lord; it was decided that only the best of the best, the core disciples, would participate. The reverend asked for two days to prepare. During those two days, the sect elders argued, debated and even came close to blows on deciding which of their direct apprentices would accompany the lord on his hunt. It was finally decided to hold a very quick tournament to decide the members of the team. Aryon, meanwhile, had no idea that his request had caused quite the stir in the sect. In the end, four core disciples waited outside Aryon¡¯s cave residence on the day of the hunt. The fifth spot belonged to his ¡°assistant¡±.
Feng Yan could not help but be humbled before his seniors. Just as the outer sect looked up to the inner sect disciples, who were afforded better resources and training, the inner sect admired and aspired to be one of the core disciples. These were inner disciples who displayed such genius and talent that they were taken in by a Soul Core elder to be trained under them personally, in the hopes of raising them faster to the Soul Core realm. He, too, had a master. But his master, Guo Xin, took him in as one of many apprentices who showed aptitude. He had yet to exceed his expectations to be accepted as a true core disciple. So when he saw these four disciples arrive at his post near Aryon¡¯s cave residence, he gave clasped his hands and bowed. ¡°Junior disciple Feng Yan greets his seniors.¡± Three of the four returned the greeting while the last, Ye Kang, snorted and placed his gear on the ground. ¡®So it¡¯s that Ye Kang, huh?¡¯ he thought. Ye Kang was a member of the Ye Clan, who had a reputation for being arrogant and meddlesome. The Ye Clan didn¡¯t like Green Blade Forest Sect, but each side kept their misgivings private. ¡°Where is the lord?¡± asked one of the core disciples. Her name was Ming Guo, one of the prettiest girls in the sect and an idol to many. ¡°Inside.¡± he replied. ¡°He will be ready soon.¡± ¡°What is the lord like?¡± said Guan Feng. He was a tough, smiling youth and the largest of the four. ¡°Master only had praises and conjectures when he talked about him.¡± ¡°From what little I saw of him, he is a very disciplined and refined person.¡± Aryon rarely, if ever, showed any slack to his step nor any form of casual appearance during his time with him. And though his accent was strange, his words were always intelligent and carried authority and wisdom. A youth even younger than Feng Yan came up. It was Liu Wong, the personal disciple of one of the Nascent Soul masters and a fifth-level Foundation cultivator. ¡°I heard he had strange mystic arts that could deal with Soul Core cultivators with a twist of a hand. Is it true?¡± There was a snort from the side. ¡°He should have killed those bandits.¡± said Ye Kang. ¡°Perhaps.¡± Feng Yan turned around, interrupting his reply to Ye Kang. He clasped his hands and bowed before the approaching Aryon. ¡°Disciple greets lord.¡± The four followed suit. Even Ye Kang didn¡¯t dare slack on his greetings. Aryon nodded at the five, the looked at Ye Kang. ¡°You think I should¡¯ve killed them?¡± Ye Kang bowed once more. ¡°Disciple was impudent to speak out his mind.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Aryon looked up to the sky, continuing. ¡°Perhaps they did deserve death on the spot, but I cannot play judge and executioner in a foreign land. When you are in another¡¯s house, you must follow their rules, as they say.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The five disciples nodded at his words. ¡°And there were other reasons. But never mind that, are you prepared?¡± ¡° ¡°Yes!¡± ¡° ¡°Good. I won¡¯t take part in the actual fight, for I wish to see your sect in combat. But worry not; if things go bad, I shall come to aid you.¡±
Aryon had good reasons for this trip. Experience, research and gauging the strengths of the local wildlife here was one reason. Another was his desire to see these so-called cultivators in combat (without him being punched and tossed around). He also needed some magical beast blood, fresh. When he heard of ¡®spirit beasts¡¯ lurking around the forests, he had an inkling that those would fit the bill. Magical beasts were rare in his land, existing only in places of high magic. But this place had high magic everywhere. The last reason was that he was bored. ¡®Who knew that death could be so boring?¡¯ So off they went into the heart of the forest for fun and profit. Five youths, full of energy and vigor, and a devilishly handsome and kingly abomination to life. He''d play a supportive role and stick to the sidelines, watching how these disciples fight and act in combat. ¡®Curious how these questers for immortality have so many ¡®techniques¡¯ and ¡®arts¡¯ for cutting lives short. But then again, my own scholarly pursuit for knowledge has killing spells, too.¡¯
Somewhere deep within Green Blade Forest. ¡®Try and make a good impression on the lord.¡¯ Liu Wong held the words of his master close to his heart, even during this battle. Surrounded by his compatriots, the Flamefur Tiger warily prowled around its encirclement, its golden-red fur flickering in the dim forest light. Ye Kang and Ming Guo closed in slowly from the sides when it was turned away. ROAR! The tiger turned around pounced like lightning at the approaching duo, aiming for Fang Mingxiu first. Yet both were prepared for this, quickly stepping back to dodge. The other three knew this to be their cue and struck. Liu Wong executed his master¡¯s Earth Sundering Cut technique, which he had trained to the third level and was capable of leaving cuts on a cliff-face. Feng Yan and Guan Feng also executed martial techniques of their own. ¡®Watch this, lord!¡¯ His Earth Sundering Cut found its target, leaving a bloody gash on one side. Guan Feng¡¯s Tidal Fist Eight Strikes landed soon afterwards, pummeling the now-wounded side with iron blows. Only Feng Yan lagged behind. By the time his Dancing Blade technique struck, the tiger had already turned around and dodged. ¡°Stop slacking, inner disciple!¡± said Ye Kang as he moved in with Ming Guo to take advantage of the tiger¡¯s turnaround. ¡°Do not shame us before the lord!¡± ¡°Sorry!¡± Ye Kang¡¯s spear lunges at the distracted tiger, its tip wreathed in metal Spirit Energy. With exquisite precision, the strike landed at one of the tiger¡¯s back legs. Ming Guo followed suit, taking advantage of the tiger¡¯s immobility to unleash her Blazing Sun Sword technique. Slowly but surely the tiger was whittled down. Crippled and wounded, it finally fell from one last strike from Feng Yan who rammed his blade up the tiger¡¯s chin. Liu Wong and the rest stepped forward while Feng Yan sat down just next to the tiger¡¯s corpse. ¡°That was a good fight.¡± he said. ¡°Had our junior been more competent, it would¡¯ve been a short fight.¡± spat Ye Kang. Feng Yan, breathless from the fight still, didn¡¯t bother to reply and began meditating. ¡°Can you be less of an arrogant idiot for once?¡± said Ming Guo. Both he and Guan Feng nodded in agreement. ¡°Bah. Can¡¯t help it. I get annoyed when I¡¯m forced to carry a burden.¡± replied Ye Kang. ¡°Where is the lord?¡± ¡°Here.¡± An armoured figure materialised from nowhere and approached their team. ¡°Well done, all. Your skills in battle are as good as a senior knight in my lands.¡± All five, even the prone Feng Yan, gave a bow. ¡°Great thanks for lord¡¯s complements.¡± Aryon nodded and approached the beast. Picking one side of the tiger¡¯s carcass that wasn¡¯t as cut up as the rest, he tore off a large cut of skin and fur, then tapped on it with a finger as he spokein some strange tongue ¡° [Fabricate] ¡± Liu Wong¡¯s eyes sparkled as he saw the torn skin undergo changes. The fur fell off, the uneven edges straightened and the colour changed from a blood-stained pink to a light brown. It had transformed into a beastskin scroll. ¡®Wow¡­¡¯ The lord then dipped a finger in the tiger¡¯s blood, drawing a pattern he¡¯d never seen before on the new scroll. ¡°There. All done.¡± he said after finishing. He tucked the scroll away and wiped the blood from his finger. ¡°We should- Look out! [Telekinesis]!¡± An unseen forced threw Liu Wong and his companions to the side. Just in time, for a great shadow fell upon the spot they and the lord were standing on. Before he landed on the ground, he saw the armoured figure of lord Aryon vanish under that falling mass. ¡°LORD ARYON!¡± Chapter Nine: Of Fire and Ice ¡®This is bad.¡¯ thought Feng Yan. Sixth rank spirit beast! Spirit beasts were powerful monsters that normally outmatched the strength of cultivators. They, like cultivators, also possessed a system of ranking from one to twelve. The Flamefur Tiger was a second-rank beast, equal to a mid-level Foundation Realm practitioner. But this sixth rank spirit beast was strong as a high-level Soul Core practitioner, and could be considered a mere step away from the Nascent Soul Realm! The spirit beast was a giant ape ten meters tall and wide as a house, with red fur and blazing yellow eyes. Flames occasionally ran down its tree-trunk-like arms and legs, scorching the earth where it walked. It was a feared animal in the prefecture that not even the grandmaster would underestimate: a Rising Inferno Ape! Feng Yan and the core disciples had only one instinct: run! But the lord¡­ A great flaming fist occupied the ground where Aryon just stood a moment ago. ¡°Run!¡± said Liu Wong. ¡°But lord Aryon!¡± ¡°What can we do? We can only escape with o-¡± ¡°Look!¡± An ethereal hand as large as the ape¡¯s appeared beneath that fist crushing the lord, lifting upwards. The ape struggled to push it back down, but the opposing force was a little bit greater than his. From beneath the small crater that fist formed rose the dirtied figure of Aryon. From this distance, he still hear the lord¡¯s struggled muttering: ¡°Animals... still hate me.¡± The mystic art that formed the hand flickered and faded away, and the ape¡¯s fist returned to the ground. But Aryon appeared not far from where they were before the fist fell. ¡®Void step?!¡¯ ¡°Stay behind me and be wary!¡± Realising his prey had moved, the ape came bounding forward with great speed, leaving fiery craters with each pace. ¡° [Hold Monster]! ¡± Bands of blue light formed around the beast, stopping it in its tracks. But the ape broke free after a mighty struggle, shocking the lord. ¡°So quickly?! Get back you five! [Wall of Stone!] ¡± The Rising Inferno Ape raised both hands for an overhead smash, but his meteor-like hands fell on a dome of rock that rose up from the earth, blocking the strike and causing the dome to crack. The ape raised his hands again for another strike.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. " [Polar Ray!] ¡± A hole formed on the dome¡¯s cracked surface from which a ray of white light shot out, striking the ape on the chest. It stumbled mid-strike as frost spread from the impact point, causing it to screech and back away while clawing at the spreading ice. Feng Yan and the others looked on in shock. ¡®Such powerful mystic arts!¡¯ Aryon did not let the ape off after that. While its arms flailed at its chest, he emerged from his dome of rock and held one arm out towards it. ¡° [Freezing Sphere]! ¡± A sphere of blue shot out from his outstretched hand, striking the earth the ape stood on. The ground froze on impact, white ice covering an area around it as if winter snow had been covering it for weeks. Trapped and numbed by the chill, the Rising Inferno Ape gave one last struggle. Ignoring its current predicament, its crimson fur glew red hot as it unleashed a deadly breath of fire towards its enemy. Feng Yan and the others backed away as the searing heat reached even them. ¡°That beast can cast mystic arts?!¡± he yelled. ¡°It¡¯s a natural weapon! Inferno Apes can generate a flame hot enough to melt rock and burn parts of this forest to ash in an instant!¡± said Ming Guo. He could not help but look over at where Aryon stood after hearing that, but blinding flames engulfed the spot where¡­ ¡®Wait¡­¡¯ A chill swept over the area, gathering towards Aryon¡¯s location. Then came a blast of wintry wind so powerful that the Inferno Ape¡¯s fire breath was pushed back. The ape, sensing its attack being countered, increased its own power. A deadlock of fire and ice ensued between the two opposing mystic arts. Yet, for all the ape¡¯s efforts, its flame was gradually being pushed back. Aryon gave one more burst of effort, raising the white staff in his hand whilst maintaining the spell with his other. Pointing the staff forward, he shouted in that unintelligible language. ¡° [Lightning]! ¡± Arcing lightning lashed out from the staff, striking the ape on the chest once more and causing it to lose its footing. As it fell on the frozen ground, the fire breath it was maintaining stopped. With no more hindrances, Aryon¡¯s freezing assault fell on the downed ape. Struck by lightning and now ice, it thrashed for some seconds before the raging winter winds slowed it down and finally froze its corpse. The last echoes of the battle slowly died down, replaced by the forest ambience. The white statue of ice and the frost around it looked strange in contrast to the greenery. Feng Yan looked upon Aryon who stood before that statue, unmoving yet showing no sign of fatigue nor injury¡­
¡®That¡­ felt good.¡¯ Aryon had a lot of pent-up frustrations and worries building up since he found the Staff of Kings. He felt refreshed after dumping all of it onthat magical beast. ¡®Still, that was embarassing. I rarely fought on my own even during my tenure as a Relic King. Seems my duelling skills have been getting rustier over my time of sleep.¡¯ Nevertheless, he gave himself a mental pat on the back. A magical beast such as this would¡¯ve neede a band of heroes to take down back in Tarminas. ¡®And good heroes at that.¡¯ ¡°L-lord Aryon!¡± ¡®Oh no. The children.¡¯ He turned away from his defeated foe and hastened to the disciple group. ¡®They must¡¯ve been shaken from that encounter.¡¯ ¡°Young ones, I am so-¡± ¡°That was amazing!¡± ¡®...oh?¡¯ ¡°What mystic arts were those?! I¡¯ve never seen them before!¡± ¡°How did you escape that fist?! Was it a movement technique?! Or the legendary void step?!¡± ¡°Lord, please teach me those mystic arts!¡± ¡°Lord Aryon!...¡± Aryon scratched his head, but basked in the limelight nonetheless. ¡®...Mayhaps I should do this more often.¡¯ Chapter Ten: Study Group Aryon''s cave residence, Green Blade Forest Sect When news of Aryon¡¯s victory over the Rising Inferno Ape spread throughout the sect, the front of his cave residence had been trampled by visitors. Sect elders, core disciples¡­ even the inner and outer disciples visited nearby to see the crowd of well-wishers and admirers, or to catch a glimpse of that mysterious visitor. But he seldom emerged when the crowds came calling. ¡®Busy with work and such¡¯ he said as he sealed off entry into his cave. So it was Feng Yan, the ¡®assistant¡¯, who suffered in his place. Day by day since he returned from that forest fight, he was bombarded with requests, demands, notes and gifts to be passed on to the reverend lord. It was an exhausting experience. Nerve-wracking as well, since many of these people were higher than him in status and cultivation. The poor inner disciple could do nothing but stare at the cave entrance with pitiful eyes. ¡®Please come out already, lord!¡¯
¡®Do hold on for longer, assistant Feng Yan.¡¯ Attracting unnecessary attention was one of the things Aryon expected to happen during his stay in this place. As much as he liked to be praised and held in awe by others, he had a great responsibility on his shoulders right now and didn¡¯t have time to dally. He now had two beastskin scrolls etched with the Rune of Amplification (he made one more from the corpse of that flaming ape just in case, since the disciples said it was ¡®of a higher realm¡¯ and all). Now he needed to fabricate a mana-focus, which would again require a few more rare ingredients¡­ ¡®We¡¯ll leave the scavenger hunt to my hosts.¡¯ he thought as he swept his table clean of his now-completed plans. In their place, he put down several scrolls written in this land¡¯s strange characters. Studying the language was difficult because of its departure from the familiar. In his land, there was a standardised language called the Common Tongue, with variations of it spread throughout the other neighbouring kingdoms. It made both communication and learning easy. Now he had to tackle a new set of characters, with different reading methods. He couldn¡¯t always rely on the Comprehend Languages spell, and he had a lot of free time if he calculated the length of his stay compared to the end of his goals. So learning the language would be advantageous for him. ¡®This¡¯d go easier if I had a partner. Not the poor assistant, though. Hm¡­¡¯Stolen story; please report.
A month had passed for Liu Wong since the events at the forest. During that time, their revered guest had stayed holed up within his cave residence, occasionally popping up with a strange request or two. The lord seldom met with others nor interacted with the sect save for his requests, and even that was done through his assistant. So there was a great stir within the sect when he asked for him by name to be summoned. Liu Wong¡¯s master wasted no time sending his own core disciple and the star of the sect off to meet with their famed visitor. Liu Wong himself hastily made his way to the cave entrance the moment his master gave the command and his things were packed. He had hoped that the lord would teach him some of his strange mystic arts, or reveal some secrets to him. But who knew he only asked for him to be a study partner? ¡°It is good for the young to help the old.¡± said the lord Aryon. Liu Wong agreed, but¡­ language? Reading and writing? Those were things one learned from ones parents, or a hired teacher. ¡°Lord¡­ are you sure I¡¯m the one you needed for this?¡± said he. He looked to the side where Feng Yan was meditating. He was now at the courtyard before the lord¡¯s cave residence. ¡°You are. They say you are the brightest of the disciples, being so young and yet achieving¡­ what was it again?¡± ¡°Fifth level of Foundation Realm.¡± he said with a little pride. Most people at his age of thirteen would only be at the start of Foundation Realm or the peak of Spirit Gathering. His mind-blowing cultivation speed was all owed to his talents, his genius of comprehension and his special tri-spirit vein that had Wood, Water and Earth attributes. ¡°Mhm. That¡¯s why I picked you. Because of your talents.¡± ¡°Really?¡± said he, still suspecting and unsure. ¡°Yes, of course. Would I lie to you?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Oh fine, child. I will bestow upon you some trinkets in exchange. So can we begin now?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Very well, ¡®teacher¡¯. Now, about this character here¡­¡±
Aryon could never bear the thought of being taught again by another. So to lessen the blow, he asked for someone younger, more impressionable and easier to control than a sect elder. He had given two things to the boy in exchange, which he did mean to give in the beginning: an amulet of gold bearing the Comprehend Languages spell to ease their lessons, and a similar ring of gold with a one-use spell. ¡°What does it do?¡± asked Liu Wong. ¡°Just focus a bit of your mana- I mean, Spirit Energy, on the ring when you¡¯re aiming for a sure hit. Remember, it can only be used once a day every sunrise.¡± The fighting-obsessed boy nodded, rubbing the ring with sparkling eyes. ¡®I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll like it come his next little bout.¡¯ His learning arrangement continued for another two months after their first meeting. He made some advances in the study of the language, enough to understand things without the usual spell. He also befriended Liu Wong and his ¡®assistant¡¯ Feng Yan, who also chimed in to help time by time when he wasn¡¯t on duty or performing sect missions. ___ Some time after he had a novice¡¯s grasp on the local tongue, a message had come around bearing details on something Aryon had been waiting for. ¡°So the gem will be on sale in this¡­ auction house?¡± ¡°Yes, lord.¡± said the elder. ¡°The auction will be in three days time. If lord so wishes, we can provide an escort to accompany you to the area.¡± Aryon thought for a while before agreeing to the offer. ¡°And have two more spots open for the escort.¡± he added. ¡°I¡¯d like to take along my fellow stude- ah, my disciple friends here.¡± Chapter Eleven: Field Trip Aryon felt like a rich tycoon right now. The sect had graciously provided them with one of their treasures; a flying ship around the size of a Tarminian light frigate, kept afloat by expending Spirit Stones into a furnace. The insides were lavishly decorated and furnished, for it was meant to serve as a transport the sect¡¯s important elders and masters. Standing on the foredeck of the ship, he inspected it from stem to stern and was quite impressed with its craftsmanship. ¡®Their craftsmanship equals us in some ways back in Tarminas here. But their powering method seems a bit expensive. Perhaps¡­¡¯ ¡°Lord Aryon!¡± His two little disciple companions, officially his ¡®aides¡¯ in this journey, came up to him while admiring the view. ¡°Hello, my boys. I hope you are both comfortable?¡± Both nodded their heads. ¡°Have you been to big cities before, lord?¡± asked the ever-inquisitive Liu Wong. Aryon chuckled. ¡°Many.¡± he said. ¡®I even ruled over some, too.¡¯ ¡°But not to one of yours.¡± ¡°Oh. So this is your first time going to Dragon Border Gate City?¡± ¡°That is so. Is it impressive?¡± Liu Wong shrugged. But Feng Yan spoke up. ¡°I have been there, lord. It is¡­ big.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± said Aryon as he chuckled again. ¡°Anything else of note?¡± ¡°It is the seat of the local governor of the prefecture, as well as the headquarters of the local Imperial garrison.¡± ¡°Imperial garrison¡­¡± An imperial garrison must mean there¡¯s an empire out there. He couldn¡¯t get much out of the history scrolls he¡¯d borrowed from the sect aside from local information, and he didn¡¯t want to talk to those ¡®elders¡¯ too. ¡®I should visit the library there, if there¡¯s one¡­¡¯ ¡°From where does lord come from?¡± said Liu Wong suddenly. ¡°Oh. I never did reveal that. I come from¡­ a far away kingdom known as Tarminas.¡± ¡°Where is it in the Immortal Jade Continent.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not here.¡± he said. ¡°It is on a land known as Haven, far away from here.¡± Both disciples nodded. ¡°Are there cultivators there? I¡¯ve always wondered about your cultivation level, lord.¡± ¡°Well, of a sorts¡­ but not in your way at least.¡± he said, thinking his next words over. ¡°We have a¡­ different system of manipulating mana- that is, Spirit Energy.¡± ¡°Is lord powerful there?¡± ¡°Why yes. We didn¡¯t have your ordered levels and realms, but gained titles through our achievements. There, I am an archmage and master of the ninth roster of the Standard Arcana, one of the highest honors in the land.¡± Both nodded again. It didn¡¯t make much sense to them, but it sounded impressive. ¡°Ah, my dear boys, perhaps one day I will take you there to Tarminas. You will see such sights there. From the Boulevard of the Stars and Library Row with its many shops¡­ And there, too, is the Tower of the Moon, the seat of the Mage-Kings, with the Great Central Tower shadowing it.¡± He looked out into the distance, to that far-away horizon. ¡°...Yes. One day, I will take you there to visit. And you will see with your eyes the full wonders of magic there.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A cry came from one of the sect elders manning the ship. ¡°Lord Aryon! We¡¯re near.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll swap stories some other day, my boys.¡± said he. ¡°Now, let¡¯s prepare to land.¡±
Feng Yan wasn¡¯t kidding when he said Dragon Border Gate City was big. But Liu Wong felt that ¡®big¡¯ didn¡¯t do it enough justice. It¡¯s huge! Towering buildings and pagodas of painted stone lined every side of the city¡¯s wide streets, with hundreds of people doing business under their shadows. The stream of people never seemed to stop moving. Liu Wong walked alongside the sect escort and Lord Aryon, their green sect robes a stark contrast to the multicolored throng of people around them. These very folk looked at them with curious eyes, especially at the taller-than-average silver-armoured man in the very center. It took them an hour or so to find their way to their destination: a large castle that, to Liu Wong¡¯s surprise, was actually an inn for rich cultivators. The auction was slated to begin in two more days, so rooms had been reserved to accommodate Lord Aryon and his escort of twelve. Entering the inn, Liu Wong saw many wealthy looking nobles and cultivators mingling in the inn¡¯s opulent lobby. Aside from their luxurious (and, to his eyes, garish) dresses, all were above the mid-level Soul Core Realm, with even a few in Nascent Soul Realm! Liu Wong felt intimidated in this high-class environment. ¡°You there! Green Blade Forest Sect!¡± A Soul Core cultivator wearing gold-trimmed blue robes broke from one of the groups in the lobby to approach them. ¡°You! The one in the armour! How much for that set?¡± The sect elders all paused, but Liu Wong saw their hands flex in annoyance. ¡°Not for sale.¡± replied lord Aryon. ¡°...You¡¯re a stranger here in this city, right? Come now! Just because you¡¯re escorted by these green monkeys doesn¡¯t make you any important. Do you know-¡± ¡°What I know ¡± interrupted Aryon ¡°is that you should return back to your little group. Take my [Suggestion] and do so.¡± He heard that strange echo on one of Lord Aryon¡¯s words as he spoke ¡°Uhh.¡± The loudmouth fellow backed a step, then returned to his group, mumbling. ¡°Let¡¯s go before more people covet my possessions.¡± Wasting no time, the sect elders moved the procession along up one of the inn¡¯s stairs. Liu Wong paid one last glance to the room, where everyone inside was now staring at them, and followed the rest up.
¡°Did you see that strange man? It felt like he cast a mystic art.¡± ¡°He did? I didn¡¯t sense anything.¡± ¡°It was really subtle. But not his gear, though. What grade was that set? I felt Spirit Energy radiating from it even while sitting here.¡± ¡°That staff looked valuable too. It was being suppressed, but Spirit Energy was also leaking out¡­¡± The room broke into gossiping whispers after the Green Blade Forest Sect procession was safely out of earshot. ¡°I heard rumors of Green Blade Forest Sect having an important guest¡­ Hey, stop mumbling already!¡± A young lady in a gold-trimmed dress snapped at a man wearing the same color of clothing. That man was precisely the one that tried to buy Aryon¡¯s armour before. ¡°Guh. Sorry. It¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°Pardon me, young master.¡± The third person in the group, a tall and muscular elder with a beard, bent down and inspected the so-called young master. After a pause, he waved a hand before his head. ¡°Young master has been afflicted with some sort of mind-altering mystic art.¡± ¡°What?!¡± said the young woman in a fierce whisper. ¡°This old man can¡¯t tell, but the effects were relatively minor because the mystic art wasn¡¯t used in the fullest. Had it been, the young master might have been compelled to do more serious things.¡± The young woman placed a palm on her face, then started berating the man. ¡°This is all because you keep pestering people! Why don¡¯t you just stop being an idiot for once in your life!¡± The young man tried to retort, but closed his mouth as if he forgot what he was saying. The old man escorted the young master to a nearby couch. ¡°The effect is fading away and there¡¯s no lasting damage. That mystic art, I think, was just a warning.¡± ¡°Who was that armoured man?¡± ¡°From the rumours, his name is Aryon and he comes from a foreign land.¡± ¡°A foreigner?¡± ¡°Mm. We know nothing else, save that he defeated a Rising Inferno Ape and gifted Green Blade Forest Sect with weapons.¡± ¡°The Earth grade weapons?¡± The old man nodded. The young woman gave pause to think, then said. ¡°Have our people tail them without being known. Avoid offending this man and get an idea on who he is and what he¡¯s up to. As for our task, I¡¯ll do some research on those who may want the scroll we¡¯re after.¡± ¡°Yes, young mistress.¡± ¡°Good. Go, and don¡¯t fail the Bai clan.¡± Chapter Twelve: Sightseeing Soft Mist Inn, third floor suite. ¡°Are all the rich and powerful here so quick to make threats and push their names about?¡± said Aryon as soon as they arrived at their room. ¡°Forgive us, lord, for not reacting sooner.¡± said one of the sect elders. He waved it off and sat down in one of the cushioned chairs. Their suite was luxurious to be sure, if a bit foreign for his tastes; a large and well-furnished living room of sorts with six modest bedrooms adjacent. ¡®The luxury is lost on me, sadly.¡¯ ¡°Who was that ruffian?¡± he asked. ¡°A clansman of the local Bai clan. They own parts of the city, lord, and are one of the local powers in the prefecture.¡± ¡°So a noble, huh?¡± Aryon said with disdain. He never felt kinship with nobility despite being a king of a kingdom. ¡®Tarminian kings did it right, only having their apprentices earn the crown.¡¯ ¡°In my land the nobles were more¡­ subtle in their aggravations. That one didn¡¯t even hesitate to throw implications at my face.¡± ¡°Again, forgive us lord.¡± Aryon would be sighing now if he could. ¡°Bah. Nevermind. Let us just forget that and settle in.¡±
Dragon Border Gate City streets It didn¡¯t take long for his sect to finish settling in. With dusk still a few hours off, Feng Yan found himself with Lord Aryon, Liu Wong and a sect elder as they wandered the city. Lord Aryon didn¡¯t want to ¡®stand out¡¯ since the incident at the hotel lobby, so he took up a disguise. It was an amazing sight that made even the elders gasp when he used a mystic art to change his form: from that of a tall, armoured man into one of the elders in the group. Aryon swore to do no mischief in this form to allay the copied elder, and wore a hat to hide himself. It was strange and funny in Feng Yan¡¯s eyes, seeing the elder being flustered and arguing with his mirror image. They wandered without a particular destination, toured around by the sect elder who visited the city often. Along the way they visited many shops and stalls and viewed street performances, famous places and strange sights. ¡°I must admit, this city could rival even a major city in Tarminas.¡± he heard Aryon say. ¡°But it is not as peaceful.¡± They walked passed three random brawls amongst cultivators during their sightseeing. Feng Yan explained that it was a common occurrence amongst the lower-realm practitioners in the city, but large-scale violence almost never happened because of the guards.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°You cultivators are so prickly when it comes to pride. Speaking of guards, I see red-armoured ones and black-armoured ones. Are they both from the garrison?¡± ¡°No lord.¡± said the elder with them. ¡°The red armoured ones are from the Ye clan.¡± ¡°Mhm. I read about them. The other local power here.¡± ¡°Just so. Patriarch Ye served as an imperial officer and earned many merits before retiring here with his family and soldiers loyal to him. He is a good man of excellent morals, but recently our relations with them have soured.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°Patriarch Ye has been missing from the public eye recently. His younger brother, Ye Shao, manages the sect in his absence and has caused friction between us for control of the southern villages.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± They continued meandering through the city streets, stopping once to eat at Aryon¡¯s treat at a noodle stand. The lord himself didn¡¯t join them, opting to stand and watch the road with its busy people. Feng Yan didn¡¯t try to invite him: most cultivators at lord Aryon¡¯s level of power usually obtained nourishment from the heavens and the earth. ¡°Can lord tell us why he¡¯s going to an auction?¡± he asked while he ate. ¡°Hm? Ah. I need it to create something called a focus. I¡¯ll spare you the finer details and tell you that it improves spells- that is, mystic arts.¡± ¡°Lord knows a lot of mystic arts. Do you know any martial techniques?¡± Mystic arts are pure manipulations of Spirit Energy whilst martial techniques combine Spirit Energy with physical abilities and movements. Some martial techniques even combine mystic arts together as part of the technique. ¡°Hah, no. I tend to fight from a distance. But I do know boxing and wrestling back in my academy days. Useful for getting people off me when they get close.¡± ¡°If lord wishes, I am sure the sect can provide him with material for techniques.¡± chimed in Liu Wong as he slurped down his bowl. ¡°I might read some out of study, but I doubt it¡¯ll be of use for me. Finish up, now. It is getting late. We will continue our tour tomorrow.¡±
¡°Some Green Blade Forest Sect disciples and elders went out into the city, but they were simply looking around like tourists. Here are the details¡± The elder bowed and handed over a scroll to the young woman seated on a couch before him. She gave it a quick read before setting it aside. ¡°No news on their benefactor?¡± ¡°No, young mistress. He hasn¡¯t left the room as far as we can tell, but we cannot penetrate the hotel room without alerting the Soul Core elders within.¡± ¡°Nevermind then.¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°Best if we don¡¯t try and push this angle too far and risk offending whoever that man is. What of the scroll?¡± ¡°It should be at the auction house now.¡± ¡°And the competition?¡± ¡°The Ye clan will come on the day of the auction. Ye Shao himself and a retinue of guards will be taking part in the bidding.¡± Another sigh came from the young woman. ¡°Anyone else?¡± ¡°A carriage bearing imperial colours recently came through the Dragon Border Gate and will likely be here tomorrow. No news on who¡¯s inside, but we¡¯re fairly certain it¡¯s for the scroll.¡± The woman took a cup of tea from a nearby table and sipped. ¡°Focus on that for now.¡± she said. ¡°And where¡¯s that idiot of a brother of mine?¡± ¡°Ah. In the inn, with his¡­ partners.¡± ¡°Ugh. What¡¯s his plans tomorrow? He better not cause trouble in the city again.¡± ¡°That I do not know. But rest assured that Guardian Ji will be with him.¡± Chapter Thirteen: Water Under the Bridge The next day, Aryon and the sect members left for some errands. Donning his illusionary form, he and his previous three companions parted ways with the others, who either had errands in the city themselves or were keeping guard of their hotel room. Their first stop was a weapon store. ¡°Why here, lord?¡± asked Liu Wong. ¡°Your staff is a great and powerful treasure, is it not?¡± ¡°More than you think.¡± he said. ¡°But I want to peruse your armaments. If this land is so saturated in magic, then it is likely that the materials here are different from my land as well. And if you want to know the quality of the materials in an area¡­¡± ¡®...Then you go to a weapon shop.¡¯ The touring elder brought them to a building called the Bright Sun Weapon Pavillion, where a clerk greeted them at the door. ¡°Welcome! Welcome! Green Blade Forest Sect disciples, are you? Come in! Your sect has always been good customers to our Bright Sun Weapon Pavillion.¡± They were ushered into a luxurious hallway filled with glass displays. Weapons of all types, even ones that Aryon had never seen before, occupied these places. ¡°So, guests! What are you interested in? Is your sect seeking to make a purchase, or is it a personal reason why you¡¯ve come to visit us?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just browsing.¡± said Aryon ¡°Can we trouble you for a catalogue of your goods?¡± ¡°Of course, of course. Come, let¡¯s start with this one¡­¡± The clerk was a very chatty person with a deep knowledge of the weapons in the store. Even Aryon was impressed when he was able to recite, without pause, the specifications of each weapon and its materials, dimensions, grade and calculated cost, all while lavishing praise on it like a true shill. ¡°...So many swords, though.¡± said Aryon on the side to his disciple friends. ¡°Why do you all like swords so much?¡± ¡°It is the king of weapons, lord. The greatest of the Four Major Weapons: sword, spear, saber and staff.¡± said Feng Yan. ¡°Isn¡¯t a saber a sword as well?¡± Liu Wong and Feng Yan didn¡¯t know how to reply to that. ¡°You people should try maces. My land had maces and halberds everywhere.¡± The tour of the shop continued for another hour. Aryon himself was impressed by the size of the shop, more so when one realized that the shop was filled with displays. It was truly high class. But during the tour, they ran into two people who were also inspecting the displays. ¡°Green Blade Forest Sect!¡± There came a man in blue-and-gold clothes, with an old and muscular elder following behind him in a rush. In a flash of familiarity, he recalled the younger to be the one who accosted him at the inn lobby. ¡®And there goes my day.¡¯The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°You have some guts staying in this city after what you did! If not for my sister-¡± ¡°Young master!¡± The elder gave the youth a chop on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t offend!¡± ¡°Wha-! Guardian Ji-¡± Another chop. ¡°Stop being so loud. Sister¡¯s orders.¡± ¡®I like this old man already.¡¯ The young man glared at the one called Guardian Ji, but backed down. The elder then gave a bow and apologised. ¡°Forgive the young master, he is quite spoiled by the patriarch.¡± ¡°Patriarch?¡± said the sect elder with them. ¡°I see. So this is¡­ young master Bai Shun?¡± ¡°Just so.¡± ¡°And you must be Guardian Ji.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°Lord, this is the son of Bai Clan¡¯s patriarch, and the other is his guardian¡± said the elder to him. ¡°Lord?¡± ¡°That is me. My name is Aryon.¡± said Aryon. He let the illusion drop for a second for clarification. ¡°Pray do not go around telling others. I enjoy my privacy.¡± he said to the two clansmen and the clerk. ¡°Yes, lord Aryon. Again, forgive this old man and the young master for yesterday¡¯s impudence.¡± ¡°Water under the bridge.¡± he said. ¡°That is, I forgive you. Let us start anew, shall we?¡±
In the end, the two groups left the Bright Sun Weapon Pavillion together as if nothing had happened before in the past. Feng Yan was quite impressed at how¡­ thick-skinned the young master Bai Shun was. Knowing now that he was dealing with a very important personage, he turned from an arrogant bully to one¡¯s oldest friend in an instant. He even bought them a few gifts when they were looking at the weapons. Feng Yan and Liu Wong were quite happy with their new third-rank Mortal grade swords. (the lord insisted on getting them maces, too, but they declined). Lord Aryon, for his part, truly let old grudges go and chatted with the young master and the guardian cordially, swapping small talk and their daily plans. ¡°May I inquire as to the lord¡¯s purpose here?¡± he heard the old guardian ask. ¡°Ah, that. I am here to purchase something from the auction there. A certain crystal.¡± Feng Yan saw what looked like relief in the old guardian¡¯s face. ¡°Could lord mean the Great Spirit Core Crystal?¡± ¡°That it so. From what I heard it helps with spell- ah, mystic arts.¡± ¡°Lord has good eyes.¡± nodded Guardian Ji. Feng Yan stuck closer to hear his explanation of it. ¡°The Great Spirit Core Crystal is a spirit stone of great size and possesses the purest spirit energy. It is rare for one to find its way here in the borderlands, but it is fairly uncommon in the central lands of the empire.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ve always wondered where these Spirit Stones come from.¡± Feng Yan chimed in on what he knew. ¡°They¡¯re mined from the earth like gems, lord. The empire is always on the lookout for new spirit stone veins.¡± The two Bai Clan members led them to their second destination: High Breeze Library. ¡°Lord is a scholar?¡± asked the chatty Bai Shun. ¡°My lord father is also an appreciator of the written word. If lord so wishes, he can visit our clan a-¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure lord is very busy right now to have a chat with your Bai clan.¡± said the sect elder sternly. Feng Yan and Liu Wong nodded in agreement. ¡®We¡¯re not going to let you poach lord Aryon right in front of us. What face will we have to look at our masters then if we did?¡¯ He only saw Aryon shrug, chuckling, and enter the building.
In a carriage, road north of Dragon Border Gate City ¡°...So the Ye and Bai Clans are the local powers, together with this Green Blade Forest Sect?¡± ¡°That is so, your highness¡± ¡°The Ye Clan has roots in the imperial army we can manipulate. Can they be used? What about the governor?¡± ¡°We may attempt it, your highness.¡± ¡°Arrange a separate private meeting with each of them, then.¡± ¡°It may take some time-¡± ¡°They won¡¯t dare be late if they don¡¯t want to disrespect imperial authority. Make sure our message bears the official royal mark and my title of Eight Imperial Prince.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± Chapter Fourteen: Crafting Up A Plot Inside High Breeze Library Aryon liked libraries. Like southward-bound birds in winter, his profession as a wizard had instilled an instinct in his soul to seek out places of knowledge. But after browsing the selections in this ¡®High Breeze Library¡¯, his opinions on this world¡¯s scholarly practices had dropped. ¡°Martial technique scroll, sword manual, movement technique manual, sword scroll, sword manual¡­ Is it all cultivation-related things here?¡± ¡°High Breeze Library has the largest collection of cultivation techniques and mystic arts in all the prefecture, lord. Is there a particular item you¡¯re seeking.¡± said the sect elder. ¡°Yes.¡± he said with impatience. ¡°Where are the plain writings? History? Language? Stories? I¡¯d go with a children¡¯s fairy-tale book at this point.¡± Aryon took another glance at the shelf of scrolls and manuals before him. ¡®Heaven Earth Embryonic Breathing Technique¡­ useless to me; I don¡¯t breathe.¡¯ ¡®Ten Wind Steps Movement Technique¡­ I¡¯ll stick to walking and running.¡¯ ¡®Grand Sun Crow Inferno Spell¡­ so a maximised fireball in the shape of a crow? Fancy, but overcomplicated.¡¯ ¡®Whirling Iron Stone Cutting Sword¡­ why are there so many swords here too? These swordsmen are the pyromancers here, I swear. If those buffoons back in Tarminas somehow hog the Evocation roster again¡­¡¯ A librarian finally came around to lead Aryon to the section he desired, located in an obscure side of the library in a smaller-than-average shelf. ¡®Barbarians, all of them.¡¯
Guardian Ji and his charge parted ways with the Green Blade Forest Sect party after they finished in the library. Despite the young master¡¯s vigorous attempts to pay for their purchases or draw the lord to their side, the party firmly rebuffed them and went off for more sightseeing. ¡®At least our grudges have been settled peacefully.¡¯ thought Guardian Ji. ¡®Young mistress Hua will be quite happy with the news.¡¯ They still don¡¯t know if Green Blade Forest Sect was gunning for their objective, but at least one powerful man held no interest in it. ¡®Though he could be bluffing. Still, what a strange man he was. Dignified and well-mannered like a noble lord, but he possesses too many quirks that set him out as different.¡¯ His strength was something he also couldn¡¯t gauge properly. Some manner of mystic art kept his gear¡¯s grade and his own cultivation constantly fluctuating and he couldn¡¯t pin it down properly. Against such unsurety, no man would make a sudden move against him. He made a mental note to try and have the young mistress meet him. ¡®If anyone can draw out something from that stone, it¡¯ll be the young mistress.¡¯ Bai Hua was the eldest child and only daughter of the patriarch, and a devilishly intelligent woman at that. ¡°Young master, let¡¯s go back to the inn.¡±
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. After some more shopping (¡®I need a few reagents for a little project.¡¯ said lord Aryon), Liu Wong and the rest of the group returned to the inn late in the afternoon, encountering no more trouble. On returning, he took the time to practice some careful sword moves with his new third-rank Mortal grade sword inside their shared living room. Lord Aryon and Feng Yan, with some elders, were also present, discussing matters. ¡°Some of our sect elders were being followed the whole day.¡± said one elder. ¡°That is common.¡± said Aryon, now returned to his normal form. ¡°You do stand out with your sect colours. Some group, likely the local authority, will have you tailed for information.¡± Liu Wong made a mental note to always look behind his back the next time he was in a town. ¡°Just so, lord. Did you sense anyone following you as well?¡± ¡°No. But I assume it to be likely.¡± Lord Aryon waved a dismissing hand. ¡°Let them observe so they can keep their peace of mind. So long as they do not interfere, they can look at me all they want. That is, if they can see me.¡± The sect elders nodded. ¡°There¡¯s also some rumors about the auction today that the sect wants investigated.¡± ¡°Oh? Whatever could that be?¡± Liu Wong adjusted his stance, which coincidentally put him ~ juuust a bit closer to the talk... ¡°We don¡¯t know yet, lord. But there¡¯s been movement from the big clans. The governor of Dragon Border Gate City, Dongguan Baofeng, is also observing the auction closely.¡± His young eyes sparkled ¡®Oooh. Is it a treasure?¡¯ ¡°Hm.¡± Aryon gave it some thought before waving that off as well. ¡°I think that¡­ it is none of my concern. I am only after the crystal; pardon me for not embroiling myself in your local politics.¡± Liu Wong was a bit disappointed. He had no business with clan politics unless his ¡®host¡¯ interfered. ¡®And it sounded so interesting too¡­¡¯ ¡°Is that all you can give me for news?¡± ¡°Yes lord.¡± ¡°Alright. Continue your training and observing, then. I will be¡­ busy.¡±
Retreating to his own bedroom, Aryon looked around before casting his spell. ¡° [Mage¡¯s Private Sanctum] ¡° There was a soft boom, and a wave of air emanated from his location that stopped at the room¡¯s surfaces. Now feeling secured, he began his work. Aryon brought over several bags to the nearby writing table, each filled with items he bought today. Within were raw materials that he picked out himself. ¡®So strange, these things. ¡®Spirit iron¡¯, ¡®thunder-attracting cypress wood¡¯, ¡®deep azure pearls¡¯... Even the materials here are saturated in magic. Each item, even in their unprocessed state, would be worth hundreds of gold in Tarminas. ¡®When I return, I should request the current king to found a colony here.¡¯ He had no specific important goal in mind here; he simply wanted to try his hand at crafting with these excitingly magical materials, ever since he saw them in the first day of sightseeing. And there was also¡­ ¡®Heh. Wait til they see this¡­¡¯ He looked at his hands as he flexed them. His armour was still pristine; forged from adamantine and laced with a list of abjurations and enchantments that even he forgot, the smiths of Tarminas truly didn¡¯t spare any cent in its creation. ¡®Those illusion and anti-divination enchantments come in handy too, when the paladins are about hunting for the undead.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t the armour he was appraising, though, but the rings on his hand. He had eight rings, four on each hand, that conferred certain powers to his person. And now he was looking at three of them. ¡®The ring of reagents, to help me eschew certain requirements for lesser spells. The ring of the soul, which cuts the soul-price for imbuing magic to items. And the ring of the crafter, which improves my craft.¡¯ It had been a long time since he did artificer work. His greatest creations were the Sword of Earth Mastery and the Baton of Frost;things he forged with the help of Tarminian smiths when he was just a royal apprentice. Thesehe gave away to his hosts to pay for their help. But now, centuries later, he felt that he could do much better, even on his own, with these materials in hand. ¡®Let¡¯s see if I can top my achievements.¡¯ Chapter Fifteen: The Actors in the Drama (I) Soft Mist Inn, third floor suite. Feng Yan found the lord to be¡­ odder than usual. On the last day before the auction he had sequestered himself within his room, appearing only to ask if there was any news on the auction. If it didn¡¯t involve him, he¡¯d brush it away and retreat back to his room. Discarding his actions as another quirk of the lord, he and Liu Wong focused on helping the sect elders prepare for the auction, who were going about it with greater energy than usual. Word had come via messenger of a great item set to appear in the auctions. Though yet unknown to them, it was known that the powers in Dragon Border Gate Prefecture were scrambling to purchase this thing. The sect had given instructions and a large influx of funds to the elders in an attempt to buy it. As for Aryon? He didn¡¯t seem care about that. On the day of the auction, when the elders were scrambling to finalise their funds, Feng Yan saw the lord cast his disguising mystic art and quietly leave, then quietly returned just as they were about to leave. He also noticed him carrying a large, wrapped bundle when he left. But now, it was nowhere to be found when he came back.
Not opting a disguise this time, Aryon and company traveled down the stairs only to run into a familiar face. ¡°Lord Aryon!¡± The chatty young master Bai Shun greeted them at the lobby, parting from his retinue. ¡°Please come and meet my sister! Her name is Bai Hua, and she is the pretties-¡± ¡°You can stop now, idiot brother. I don¡¯t need your introductions.¡± said the woman in question. Aryon was impressed with what he saw: a dark-haired beauty with shoulder-length hair, young, well proportioned and at the prime of her age. She approached the Green Blade Forest party and gave the local bow to him, ¡°Pardon my crudeness and my brother¡¯s antics lord. I am indeed Bai Hua, eldest daughter and heir of the Bai Clan.¡± She held a respectful tone towards him, and moved with poise and grace befitting nobility. Aryon couldn¡¯t help but reciprocate, bowing in his own usual style. ¡°It is of no matter. And your brother has made amends. Pray tell, are you going to the auction as well?¡± ¡°Why yes.¡± she said. ¡°Does Lord want to accompany us? It will be better to have company on the road.¡± ¡®It is indeed hard to refuse a woman.¡¯ ¡°We can, can we?¡± he turned towards the sect elders, who could only nod at his request. The type of transport for nobility in this world was crude: a litter carried by four men each. Yet with the strength of these cultivators, their litters were quite big and luxurious. Several of these fancy litters were rented by both parties. One set carried the sect elders and his ¡®aides¡¯, another carried the Bai Clan members. He, himself, shared a litter with the Bai siblings, and one sect elder. ¡°So¡± began the sister. ¡°What brings lord to the auction? I heard it was for the Great Spirit Core Crystal.¡± ¡°Precisely so.¡± ¡°Is there anything else that might catch your eye? Perhaps this lady can purchase it for you, provided it isn¡¯t too expensive.¡± she said with a hint of amusement.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I have no other aims save for the crystal, madam. But I thank you for your offer.¡± ¡°Oh, truly? What of your friends? Have they any aim?¡± Aryon¡¯s ¡®eyes¡¯ glanced sideways at the sect elder next to him. ¡°Why not ask them yourself?¡± Ignoring the stare of the elder, she replied. ¡°Hoho. Lord Aryon is new here, I assume. My Bai Clan has¡­ small troubles with communicating with the sect.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it. I am but a guest in their home, madam, and have no right to pry in their matters myself. So you will forgive me for my lack of knowledge.¡± he said. The sect elder beside him gave a sigh of relief. The conversation continued on with the sister trying to pry what she could from Aryon¡¯s person, but he held his ground and only gave her choice tidbits of no consequence to him. ¡®The less people know of me, the better I can work on getting home.¡¯ ___ Not long after they came to their destination: a palace built right next to a waterfall. ¡°Cloud Mist Treasure Palace, headquarters of the famous Zhao Clan auctioneers.¡± said Bai Hua as she exited the litter. ¡°Zhao Clan?¡± ¡°A powerful clan, lord, based in the imperial capital. They control many such auction houses and wield a great deal of power in the whole empire.¡± ¡®Impressive. I see money is still the greatest magic of all.¡¯ ¡°Shall we, lord?¡±
Liu Wong looked at the palace with wonder. He originally thought that the Bright Sun Weapon Pavillion was the best place in the world with its impressive weapon displays. But this place was many, many times better. ¡°Look! An eight-rank Mortal grade spear!¡± ¡°Is that bone armour made from a giant skull? What spirit beast did it come from?¡± ¡°Look at these high-grade Fire Energy Rubies! Master¡¯s been looking for some for a while!¡± For all his talents and genius, Liu Wong was still a child at heart. He dragged the older Feng Yan around as he gawked at the items and displays in the palace, going here, then there, then around this corner¡­ ¡°Oof!¡± ¡°Watch it!¡± Liu Wong collided with a red-armoured guard, falling to the ground. ¡°It¡¯s a Green Forest Sect brat.¡± said the guard with disdain. ¡°Who the hell let this brat in here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re here for the auction too!¡± yelled Liu Wong out of impulse. A thin, athletic man stepped beside the guard. ¡°You, here for the auction? Don¡¯t make me laugh, sect brat. Run back to your backwoods sect and leave this place to those with actual power.¡± Liu Wong glared and stood up quickly, but Feng Yan held him before he did anything rash. Putting on a cool air befitting a senior, Feng Yan said. ¡°Forgive my¡­ junior martial brother. We¡¯ll be on our way.¡± ¡®I¡¯m a core disciple, you inner disciple! You¡¯re the junior brother!¡¯ But Liu Wong bit his tongue and gave a bow. He couldn¡¯t make a scene with the elders and lord here¡­ ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± said the thin man. ¡°I swear, these forest-loving apes have no subtlety-¡± ¡°Why, lord Ye Shao, how wonderful to meet you.¡± said the pretty voice of the Bai Clan young mistress. Together with her brother and the imposing figure of lord Aryon that towered over everyone, they were quite the eye-catching group. Seeing them here gave Liu Wong some comfort as he looked at the his insulter. ¡°Why, if it isn¡¯t the Bai Clan siblings. Come to see me win it all?¡± said he with a sneer. ¡°And who¡¯s this? The foreigner the sect dragged in?¡± ¡°I am... not part of this.¡± said lord Aryon. ¡°I must join my hosts. Excuse me, madam, but I do not want to catch what he has. I will see you later¡± with that, he turned to join the other sect elders, motioning for him and Feng Yan to join him. He gave one last look to the confused man before turning to follow. ¡°Who was that guy?¡± he asked. ¡°From his colours, I think he¡¯s from the Ye Clan.¡± replied Feng Yan. ¡°He is the Ye Clan, if I¡¯m right. ¡®Acting¡¯ patriarch Ye Shao.¡± said lord Aryon. ¡°I can see why relations between you and the Ye Clan are deteriorating. He seems to have all the bad traits of- well, your people.¡± Liu Wong and Feng Yan shrugged at that and returned to their fellow sect members. Chapter Sixteen: The Actors in the Drama (II) Cloud Mist Treasure Palace, private suite. After some veiled banter with that despicable Ye Clan lord, Bai Hua and her party retired to a rented waiting room. Two Bai Clan elders welcomed them as they entered. ¡°Young mistress, we have news for you.¡± She sat on a luxurious couch while the others took other chairs around her. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°The imperial representative is none other than the Eighth Imperial Prince.¡± ¡°Tang Heng? Seems he¡¯s still desperate to play games with his older siblings. It makes sense that he¡¯d run to this edge of the world, scrambling for whatever he can find.¡± She rubbed one of her temples with a hand. ¡°I assume the other news is that the Ye Clan and that bootlick governor Dongguan Baofeng are in cahoots with them?¡± The other elder nodded. ¡°This complicates matters¡­ Tang Heng likely won¡¯t stop with just winning an auction. He may try to build a power base here to pressure his siblings in the north. But if we can win the scroll, even the three of them and their lackeys will have trouble suppressing our rise. Still, we must do this carefully.¡± ¡°What are your orders, young mistress?¡± ¡°We continue with our task.¡± she said with resolution. ¡°...And someone send a message to father.¡±
The room¡¯s atmosphere was tense. Feng Yan feared that a misspoken word from him would lead to reprisal. ¡°The imperial icon!? Do you know who it is?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not sure.¡± ¡°Then make sure, damn it! We need to report this to the sect!¡± The elders were nervous and riled up for some reason involving the imperial family. Was there a representative here? What¡¯s he after? Who is it? ¡°Whatever are they nervous about, my boy?¡± Lord Aryon tilted his head towards him. He sat on one of the cushioned chairs far from the arguing elders along with him and Liu Wong. Since their official duty was to Aryon for now (and because of their rank and age) they had no say in their debating. ¡°They found people bearing the imperial icons, lord. That would mean that an imperial representative is here right now.¡± ¡°Oh? I¡¯m curious. I bought some scrolls on your empire here that I¡¯ve yet to read. Can you give me a start on them?¡± Feng Yan scratched his head while Liu Wong and Aryon listened. ¡°Um¡­ From what I recall, the Tang Imperial Family are the current rulers of the Clear Sky Empire after the emperor, Tang Yudi, defeated his competitors and united several prefectures under his rule.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Tang Yudi still rules today.¡± added Liu Wong. ¡°My master said that, to choose a successor, he bade his eight sons and daughters ¡®compete¡¯ with each other for his throne.¡± ¡° ¡®Compete¡¯ how?¡± asked lord Aryon. Feng Yan continued. ¡°If I remember right, it was for influence. The one who holds the greatest influence in the land, whose name resounds throughout the empire, will claim the throne.¡± ¡°...That¡¯s madness. Wouldn¡¯t it be chaotic?¡± ¡°Just so, lord.¡± ¡°You say that so casually that it¡¯s worrying.¡± ¡°Strength governs the land, lord. Only the strong rule in Immortal Jade Continent.¡± ¡°Well, something must change soon. I can only fathom what will happen in the end if this continues.¡± Feng Yan scratched his head again. ¡®This is a bad habit I picked up from going with lord Aryon.¡¯ ¡°Does lord want to try and change things?¡± ¡°No.¡± Aryon gave his answer quite decisively. ¡°I would want to, but I have great responsibilities already. I must return home and protect my kingdom. But worry not; I can submit a request to my own kingdom to see if we can¡¯t bring some measure of peace to your land by diplomacy.¡± Feng Yan didn¡¯t know how to continue from there. Nor did he need to; A clerk of the treasure palace came in, announcing ¡°Sirs. It¡¯s time. This servant will take you to your seats.¡±
Clans and emperors and auctions. Oh dear. Who knew buying something from an auction would put them this close to such a drama? Aryon could only cross his fingers and hope that he wouldn¡¯t be entangled. ¡®I do not need the burdens of others on my shoulders. I¡¯ve a great task on my person already.¡¯ He so desired to stay out of everyone¡¯s way that he made a request to get a seperate seat, away from the sect elders. They showed disappointment but complied, and off he went, leaving behind his hosts and his two aides to their own box. His box was a nice balcony seat just like the sect¡¯s. Within that small but comfy room was a heavily-curtained window with a single throne near it. A table stood nearby his intended seat, topped with complimentary wine. ¡®Lovely. Just like going to a theatre.¡¯ He sat down on the throne, not setting down the Staff of Kings. He seldom let go of it save in a private, protected room. ¡®And it¡¯s not like I feel discomfort anymore.¡¯ He pulled the curtain down just enough to see without being too overt. From his little perch he saw the actors of the current drama, just across him in similar balconies: the Bai Clan siblings and their shadow of a guardian, the green robed sect elders, the Ye Clan lord and his red guards¡­ There were some others too he didn¡¯t recognise. In what seemed like the best seat in the house were two men: a fat man with the style of a merchant and a sharp, well-dressed youth. ¡®Could that be the representative? He seems young. A princeling, perhaps?¡¯ ¡°Lord Aryon!¡± From behind came the voice of one of his disciple aides. ¡°Ah, my boys. Come, come. Did the elders let you out?¡± ¡°Yes lord. They were quite jumpy when they saw the person there.¡± said Liu Wong when he pointed towards one of the balconies. It was the very one he was just inspecting. ¡°That fat one is the governor of the prefecture. Dongguan Baofeng. That other one there¡­ I forgot who he was.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± chimed in Feng Yan. ¡°Hah. Never you mind, lads. It¡¯s of no concern to us.¡± he said. ¡°Find some extra chairs and take care not to be seen from without. Is this your first auction? I feel that this will be one you¡¯ll never forget.¡± Chapter Seventeen: The Auction (I) Cloud Mist Treasure Palace, main auction hall Bai Hua scanned the auction hall, taking note of each and every noteworthy individual. More and more cultivators were streaming into the hall, filling up the seats below. Most had cultivations at Soul Core Realm, but she could spot one or two Nascent Soul cultivators mingled in the crowd. Her own cultivation was a legend in Dragon Border Gate Prefecture: eight-level Soul Core Realm at her young age of twenty-three. A monstrous genius in comparison to those of similar age to her; even her younger brother was merely at tenth-level Foundation Realm at twenty. She especially paid close attention to the people on the balconies like her. That chatterbox brother of hers was pointing at those very same balconies, recalling the names of the occupants. ¡°Over there¡¯ll be the Green Blade Forest Sect elders. Those green robes stand out a lot. Eh? Where¡¯s that tin-can of a lord? Is he in that disguise again? Nevermind. Look, Ji! There¡¯s that pasty willow of a lord, Ye Shao! He looks like a sick man compared to those big guards of his. Over there¡¯s the fat governor and the eighth prince. He looks pretty scary. There¡¯s another box there¡­¡± Her mental barriers rose up to defend her from his never-ending drivel. She already did note the occupants. Not even the metal-armoured lord escaped her notice despite his attempts to shadow himself with curtains. The Zhao Clan representative arrived just in time to spare her from her brother¡¯s noise. Shushing his nonsense, she leaned forward to watch the introductions.
A man walked onto the stage; a tall, hawkish fellow with cropped black hair, wearing equally-black robes. He looked like a banker, or an assassin. Aryon couldn¡¯t tell the difference. ¡°Welcome, honored guests, to today¡¯s auction! Your hosts, the Zhao Clan, have quite the collection today, gathered from all corners of the southern lands! Each item has been thoroughly inspected, and we promise you that every item that comes on stage is of the highest quality.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t take my word for it. Come, see for yourself! Let the auction begin!¡± ___ Just like the ones in his land, the auction began with the small things first. Still, Aryon was surprised at how much money these martial maniacs would spend to increase their battle strength or cultivation speed. From his rough introduction to prices during his tour of the city, those bottles of medicine and Mortal-grade weapons were being auctioned off at thrice the going price. ¡®But that¡¯s an auction for you. Given how competitive these people are, it¡¯s no surprise the prices go this high.¡¯ His young aides were all starry-eyed as they watched the auction. The competitive atmosphere, the yelling, the cheers¡­ it was as if a battle was being shown rather than a sale. Not to mention the high-quality treasures that they could never see loitering in the inner sect. ¡°That guy¡¯s gonna win.¡± ¡°No way. Someone¡¯s gonna make a new- Hah, there, see?! Eight thousand spirit stones!¡± ¡°He won! Nice! That movement technique manual looked pretty powerful.¡± ¡°Hey, brother Yan, how much spirit stones do we have?¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Aryon could only sigh, or he would if he had lungs. ¡®Poor, hopeless boys. I do wish your masters can teach you something else than cultivation.¡¯ He held his hand as of yet: there was only one reason for his coming here. None of the balconies made a move as of yet as well. For now, all were simply eyeing the collections or taking notes of the winners and their prizes. The show continued for two more hours before his desired object was finally in play. An aide brought in a large, translucent crystal shaped like an uneven sphere, with a light-blue tint and roughly around the size of a cabbage. ¡°This is a Great Spirit Core Crystal. Found in the northern mountains past the Dragon Border Gate, this was mined by cultivators inside a lair of a great Earth Burrowing Serpent.¡± ¡°This crystal can aid cultivators by serving as a reservoir of spirit energy. Should a cultivator run out of spirit energy, they need only to drain the crystal to rapidly replenish what was lost. It can also boost the effects of mystic arts and techniques through the same method! A life-saving artifact to be sure!¡± ¡®Again, more focus on battling than other aspects. That crystal can do more than serve as a battery.¡¯ ¡°The bidding starts at five thousand spirit stones!¡± Aryon held back for a moment to see his competition. A few cultivators showed interest in the object, but the bidding was slow and only became slower as the price climbed up. ¡°Lord, aren¡¯t you going to buy it?¡± ¡°Just gauging my competitors, boy. I¡¯ll do it¡­ now.¡± He raised a sparkling turquoise fan provided by the treasure palace. ¡°Nine thousand! Nine thousand spirit stones from the man in the balcony!¡± A wave of murmuring swept through the auction hall. This was the first time someone up the balconies made a move. ¡°Do I see a raise? Nine-thousand five hundred? Going once, going twice¡­ There! Gentleman in the third row, nine-thousand five hundred!¡± As the price changed, Aryon raised the fan again without hesitation. ¡°Ten thousand! Ten thousand for the man in the balcony again!¡± Aryon continued to play back and forth with one or two cultivators below, but they soon began to waver when the price rose to thirteen-thousand five-hundred. ¡®I have this.¡¯ ¡°Fourteen thousand! Fourteen thousand to the lady of the Bai Clan!¡± Another wave of murmuring rose from the cultivators below. Another one from the balconies had made a move, and it was the Bai Clan young mistress as well! ¡®Well aren¡¯t you cheeky, my lady.¡¯ He shot a glance at the Bai Clan seat, trying to communicate annoyance through an immobile mask. The lady gave a little wave of her dainty hand when they caught each other¡¯s gaze. ¡°Why does she want it, lord? Is it for her own mystic arts?¡± ¡°...Not likely.¡± said Aryon as he raised his fan again. True to his suspicions, the Bai Clan woman raised hers as well. ¡®She¡¯s not buying a crystal, she¡¯s buying an audience with me.¡¯ It was against his objectives to needlessly entangle himself in local affairs. He once again raised his fan. ¡®I won¡¯t be caught up in this.¡¯
¡°Are you sure about this, young mistress?¡± asked Guardian Ji. ¡°He won¡¯t be happy.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s smart, he¡¯ll know my intentions.¡± said Bai Hua in reply. ¡°Spirit stones are nothing. Favors are the true power in these games. If it eases your mind, this will come out of my own pocket rather than the funds father prepared.¡± With that, she raised her fan again. The price of the Great Spirit Core Crystal was already nearing twenty thousand spirit stones, four times its usual price. The crowd¡¯s murmurs lowered as they watched the balconies continuously raising the price. ¡°Well, this is amusing.¡± A fan flashed up from the seat of honor. ¡®Our cunning prince must¡¯ve had some notion of what¡¯s going on. That or he suspects the crystal to be more than it seems.¡¯ Before she could counter, the other competitor raised his fan again. ¡°Hmhm. Our friend won¡¯t be happy at all.¡± ¡®But forgive me, sir. I don¡¯t care.¡¯ she thought as she raised her fan again. Chapter Eighteen: The Auction (II) Aryon¡¯s seat. Cloud Mist Treasure Palace main auction hall Feng Yan stood on one side of lord Aryon, quiet and still as a statue. The lord never showed much emotion given his¡­ current form. He¡¯d never seen his actual face before, with it always hidden behind his helm. Discerning his moods, therefore, relied on observing his actions and words; a difficult task given his disciplined lifestyle and noble bearing. But right now he could discern his mood as easy as anyone. And right now, he was mad. Lord Aryon sat straight in his chair, staring at the Great Spirit Core Crystal as it was carried away. Feng Yan, from the corner of his eye, could tell that his helm was shaking. He distinctly heard the fan in the lord¡¯s hand snap when the winner was announced. And when the lord looked towards the balcony where the Bai Clan young mistress was, the fan began disintegrating. ¡°...L-lord?¡± asked Liu Wong in a quiet voice. He, too, could read the signs. The lord looked at the cowed youth and, like a puppet with his strings cut, he slumped back on his chair. The tension in the room vanished with his deflation. ¡°...Forgive me, my boys. I was¡­ ah, distracted.¡± He patted off the dust from his metal lap. ¡°It seems I must pay a visit to a certain madam after this.¡± ¡°Will she give the crystal to you, lord?¡± he asked. The lord re-adjusted himself and paused, looking at the balcony when he did. ¡°If she knows what¡¯s good for her? Yes.¡±
¡®To think that I was bettered by a stripling of a woman. How humiliating.¡¯ He would¡¯ve pushed forward with the price war, but an elder came over from the sect''s seat to plead with him to stop. The sect was in an emergency, they said, and needed as many funds as they could to do their task, all the while making excuses and apologies. Since the money wasn''t his to begin with, he had little choice but to stop his actions, resulting in his defeat. ¡®Blast it all... Her little ploy wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve worked if that royal snoop didn¡¯t join in too.¡¯ He made a mental note to avoid confrontation with that imperial representative after this. Grumbling, Aryon pondered on his next moves. ¡°There¡¯s no delay still, at least. If I can get the crystal within two month¡¯s time, I can proceed with the plan.¡¯ He could just nab the crystal with magic and fly away in the distance, laughing all the way. ¡®But that¡¯ll cause trouble, which I don¡¯t want. Besides, I am a dignified mage-king and a representative of a kingdom. If I am to set a good example to my friends here, I must stick to my morals.¡¯ ¡®Fine. Let¡¯s jump through her little flaming hoops for now. I only pray that whatever request she has isn¡¯t too mad.¡¯ A few more items came up after the crystal, none of which moved the balconies yet rekindled the competition below. After all those items were inflated, sold and sent away, the hawk-like announcer returned. ¡°Honored guests, our second-to-the-last item is a surprise auction that just came to us today!¡± Excited whispering came from the seats below. Even the balconies shifted their seats to take a look. ¡®Oh. It¡¯s finally here.¡¯ said Aryon, his mood rising.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
¡®Hm. Could it be better than the trash before?¡¯ thought Tang Heng as he listened to the announcement. Most of the ¡®rare¡¯ items put up could be found on a street-side stall in the capital. But now he wasn¡¯t in the capital. He wasn¡¯t even close to the center of the empire, where the lands were more developed. When he found out that the clans working for him were secretly in league with his rival siblings, he quickly fled his old power-base in the lands south of the capital and ventured even further south to these untouched areas. Ensuring the loyalty of his remaining retainers and cowing everyone else with his meagre strength as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, he now had to rebuild what he had lost. And quickly. The item in this auction was just what he needed to do that. But the announcement for the next caught his attention. He stood up straight on his seat. ¡®Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s more interesting than that crystal.¡¯ The Great Spirit Core Crystal attracted his attention because of the competitors: the Bai Clan mistress and, from his sources, a foreigner guest in Green Blade Forest Sect. Sensing a hidden importance in this thing, he tried to obtain it for himself only to give up when the prices went too high for his patience. The announcer below waved towards his aides, who brought in a lavish table with an item on top draped in red-and-gold cloth that blocked his spirit sense. ¡°Honored guests! Behold!¡± With a grand, sweeping motion the announcer took off the cloth. Tang Heng stood up from his seat. As did many others in the hall. Earth-grade weapon! There was an Earth-grade weapon being sold right now! Tang Heng blinked and took a second look. There was indeed an Earth-grade weapon right there. Made of polished metal and menacing with sharpened spikes¡­ mounted on a hilt of lacquered wood decorated with azure pearls¡­ it was the most beautiful mace he had ever seen. ¡°This is a special weapon, honored guests, as described by our partners, the Bright Sun Weapon Pavillion.¡± said the announcer as he hefted it up for all to see. ¡°By its spirit energy emanations, its grade is set to the first-level of Earth-grade.¡± The difference between Mortal- and Earth-grade weapons was the same as cultivation realms: even the highest level of Mortal-grade could not compare to the lowest of Earth-grade. Tang Heng knew the worth of these weapons, as he himself owns a second-level Earth-grade sword ¡°Yet it also has strange properties rarely seen in mystic weapons! The Bright Sun Weapon Pavillion and our own Zhao Clan have confirmed that it deals greater damage against spirit beasts! In a battle against such terrifying monsters, your glancing blows will turn into deadly strikes, direct hits into mortal blows!¡± ¡®What a powerful effect!¡¯ he thought. Suppressing spirit beasts have long been a burdensome task to cultivators. ¡®Yet this weapon can help deal with those problems easier.¡¯ ¡°And that¡¯s not all! Observe!¡± He raised the weapon high and, to the surprise and shock of all, the weapon became sheathed in crackling lightning. ¡°By a mental command this weapon can channel the lightning of heaven, imbuing your strikes with crackling power!¡± ¡°Because of these extra effects, the Bright Sun Weapon Pavillion and our own Zhao Clan have agreed to set the level of this weapon to the third-level!¡± A round of gasps and loud chatter followed the announcement. Third-level! It was already on par, or better, than some of the famous weapons in Dragon Border Prefecture. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the bidding begins now at ninety thousand spirit stones!¡± Tang Heng raised his fan the instant the announcer uttered those words.
Aryon was deeply annoyed. ¡®If I knew I was going to lack crystals today¡­ Bah! Why didn¡¯t they sell the weapon earlier!¡¯ Still, it gave him a cold comfort watching the crowd become hectic because of his little test. He took especial delight at the Bai Clan mistress raising her little fan several times, only to be shot down by the Ye Clan lord and the royal representative. He had mixed feelings, however, on the Green Blade Forest Sect elders scrambling to buy it as well. ¡°Uh¡­ lord?¡± asked Feng Yan. ¡°Were you the one who made it?¡± ¡°Whatever do you mean, child?¡± he replied with feigned wonder. ¡°I saw lord leaving the hotel today with a bundle that wasn¡¯t there when he came back. Could it be that you went here to have it sold?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± He went to the weapon pavillion to have it sold here. So that wasn¡¯t a lie. Feng Yan returned to watching the bidding, unable to probe any further. ¡®Still, that was an enlightening exercise. The items here are so receptive to magic.¡¯ He overestimated the magic needed for crafting the mace. Some of the materials already possessed an inherent amount of power, so his experiments led to some of them being overloaded and disintegrating to useless dust. He still managed to make a great weapon, in his opinion. One of his bests. The crazed crowd before him was proof of that. ¡®Now, hopefully the winner will go on and make a mace manual or something similar.¡¯ Chapter Nineteen: The Auction (III) Bai Clan seat. Cloud Mist Treasure Palace main auction hall The winner of the mace was the Ye Clan. Bai Hua understood well the reasons they went for the mace. ¡®The Ye Clan controls the road connecting this city to the southern towns and villages. Their guards are often facing down spirit beast incursions from the forest.¡± Such a weapon, therefore, was a great addition to their arsenal. Bai Shun grumbled in disappointment as he watched the mace get wrapped up and taken away by a palace aide. ¡°Bah! I wanted that! That could¡¯ve been my treasured heirloom!¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Oh shut up. We¡¯re here for a task, not to give you a new toy to hurt yourself with.¡± ¡°We could¡¯ve won it had you bid more aggressively. A mere three-hundred thousand! That¡¯s an Earth-grade weapon! You can¡¯t buy those unless-¡± She set up her well-worn mental defences and ignored him again. Her earlier bids weren¡¯t an attempt to get the weapon; she deliberately stoked the competition to ensure one of her competitors wouldn¡¯t have as much purchasing power for what was to come. With the Ye Clan victorious, she could happily cross their names off the list. ¡®Fools. Why get one weapon, when you can make -more-?¡¯ she thought as she awaited the last item.
¡°And now, honored guests. The last item.¡± ¡®Ah, the main star of the show finally appears.¡¯ With all the ruckus this mystery item had caused, his curiosity of it had been peaked to the highest point. Even his two disciple friends were almost hanging off the balcony rails to get a closer look. Another lavish table was brought in, this time surrounded by armed guards, bearing an old and ornately carved box. The hawkish announcer approached that box slowly, placing his hands on the lid and lifting it up to reveal the contents. ¡®It¡¯s a¡­ scroll¡­¡¯ ¡°Within this scroll,¡± the announcer began. ¡°Lies the secrets to the Divine Imperial Smithing Technique. A cultivation technique created by our Clear Sky Empire¡¯s Imperial Weaponmaster¡± Gasps of wonder resounded in the audience hall once more, with many shuffling at the edge of their seats just to get a little closer to listen. Even the curious Aryon, with his artificer experiences, was now paying close attention. ¡°The cultivation method is suitable for Metal, Earth and Fire spirit vein holders, with multiple spirit vein bearers gaining greater benefits. With this technique and the smithing arts within this scroll, one can increase his own cultivation and his own forging ability at the same time. With higher realms, also, comes higher-quality works. Imperial Weaponmaster himself, who was at the Reaching Divinity Realm, could never make a weapon below Earth-grade.¡± ¡®Now that¡¯s impressive. It¡¯s as if I could increase my own magical potency by making items over and over again.¡¯ ¡°Everyone here should know Imperial Weaponmaster¡¯s fame; that peerless smith who could forge Earth-grade weapons of the highest calibre in but a day. It was he who equipped Emperor Tang Heng and his generals, who then went on to conquer the empire.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°He is gone now. But his legacy remains. His legacy is right here.¡± said the announcer. ¡°The power this scroll can bestow on a person is as great as Heaven and Earth. And it can be yours¡­ for the starting bid of two-hundred thousand spirit stones!¡± ¡®Quite the starting sum! I do hope the sect¡¯s pockets are deep enough for that.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t going to help them for petty reasons and good reasons. ¡®They didn¡¯t help me with my problems in the end. And if it came out that I made that mace¡­ seeing how all those people are gunning for that smithing technique¡­ ¡¯ ¡®No. Best not to make noise; I¡¯ve attracted far too much attention as it is.¡¯
The true battle had begun. ¡°Two-hundred fifty! I have two hundred and fifty from the Bai Clan!¡± ¡°Three hundred seventy five from the imperial guest!¡± ¡°Do we have four hundred? Four hundred from Green Blade Forest Sect!¡± ¡°Five hundred fifty!¡± ¡°Seven hundred!¡± Tang Heng was beside himself with rage. ¡®How can some backwater clans have so much money?¡¯ Eight hundred and fifty was already past his limit. If he did buy it at that price his future plans will be hampered, scroll or no scroll. The fat governor that had long been silent behind him, Dongguan Baofeng, finally spoke. ¡°Your highness, perhaps you should rethink this course...¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Tang Heng slumped on his chair, thinking. ¡°Dai Yijun.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± ¡°The backup plan.¡± ¡°As you will, your highness.¡± With that, the black-clothed man left the balcony. Tang Heng gave a venomous smile as he watched the proceedings. ¡®Don¡¯t blame me for your misfortune. You just had to get in my way.¡¯
It was a hard battle from what Aryon saw, with the winner being no surprise for him. ¡®She¡¯s good. All that maneuvering makes my own loss to her a little bit palatable.¡¯ The Ye Clan had spent a great sum early, and couldn¡¯t keep up. The sect and the imperial fellow both ceased their bids when they realised the magnitude of the cost compared to their own wallets. To say nothing of the bidders below. Only the Bai Clan could press onwards, winning the manual for a staggering eight-hundred and seventy-five thousand spirit stones. ¡®All in all, it was a boring end.¡¯ He looked to his disciple friends, who were bearing looks of disappointment at losing the auction. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. It¡¯s fine.¡± said Aryon to the sad boys. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing at all, losing this auction.¡± They said nothing, and exited the balcony seat to head towards their clan members. ¡®Excellent work raising morale there, your highness.¡¯ he thought to himself. ___ Aryon didn¡¯t leave with the sect, bidding the elders and his little aides to move back to the inn without him. After that, he slipped into his illusionary disguise and went to a secure room in the treasure palace. Others were there before him; they were the winners of the rest of the auction. These people were now finalizing their payments and collecting their spoils from the clerks. He waited for a long time for the last person to finish and leave the room before taking his turn. Showing an identification card, he received a jade tablet encoded with his winnings. ''Handy little thing, this tablet. We should get a similar system for gold in Tarminas.'' ¡°May I ask where the Bai Clan people are?¡± ¡°Oh? They¡¯re likely finishing the fine details of their purchase with the palace master.¡± ¡°Many thanks.¡± he said, turning to leave. As luck would have it, Aryon met the very people he was asking for just leaving the palace lobby. Aryon raised his voice. ¡°Madam!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± said Bai Hua, stopping. Guardian Ji and her brother took to her sides while her guards stood back, eyeing him warily. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°The man you cheated out of his crystal.¡± ¡°Ahaha. So it was lord Aryon.¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of your disguising mystic art. Forgive me, lord; I never intended to slight you. I simply wished to have this crystal to gift to my honored father.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± he said. ¡°Perhaps I can give him a better gift. In exchange for the crystal, that is.¡± ¡°Lord is generous.¡± she said with a smile. ¡°If lord so wishes, we can discuss this at our clan grounds. It¡¯s late, and our talks might take a while, so lord might want to stay for the night, too. ¡°Done.¡± said Aryon without hesitation. ¡®Let¡¯s get this over with.¡¯ Chapter Twenty: Chaos in the Night (I) Road north of the Cloud Mist Treasure Palace. Bai Hua was feeling very satisfied right now. All her objectives had been completed to the fullest extent, and they even snagged a bonus, too! Though he was a bit grumpy over her actions, she was sure the armoured lord would be drawn in to her side after their discussions. ¡®And if not, I¡¯ll have him owe me a favor. Big win or small win, I still win in the end.¡¯ The matter with Aryon aside, now the real challenge begins. She¡¯d be an idiot if she didn¡¯t expect some sort of retaliation from the other groups in the coming days. Who would sleep quietly knowing that, somewhere out there, their enemy was at the cusp of gaining a great power? Preparations had already been made for this, as per her plans. Those that struck at her Bai Clan will find out just how far behind they already are.
Aryon looked out from the litter¡¯s window, ignoring the chatty Bai Shun¡¯s small-talk. The auction had taken all afternoon, so by the time it ended it was already an hour past dusk. As darkness settled in, the city lights lit up one by one. He recalled the Cloud Mist Treasure Palace being in the western side of the city nearest to the mountains. They were now heading north-east to the Bai Clan territory in the city. ¡®The city lacks good lighting items. These torches and paper lanterns barely give off light and are a fire hazard.¡¯ Most Tarminian cities had lamp-posts of bronze lit with everlasting fires or glowstones. When night fell, one would know where a Tarminian city was by simply following the glow of light on the horizon. ¡°The city should invest in better lighting.¡± he said. ¡°Look, this area we¡¯re passing now barely has any.¡± The road they were in at had little to no lights. Not even the houses and stores at the sides of the street had any despite their open windows. He saw Guardian Ji looking out the windows in suspicion. ¡°Something¡¯s not right.¡± Before Aryon could look for himself at what was so strange, a series of thudding blows struck the roof of their litter. ¡®Crossbow bolts!¡¯ Several crossbow bolts rained down on the litter they were on. The litters seemed to be made out of some strong materials, for even the glass survived the attack and remained unpunctured. But the guards carrying it were not as sturdy. Two of the four were struck dead by the deadly hail, and the litter fell to the ground, jostling the people within. ¡°Stay inside!¡± said Guardian Ji as he left the litter. With a great jump, he leapt up to one of the roofs. After a second or two, a body fell on the road. The dead man was hard to identify due to his dark clothes and the poor illumination, but Aryon wagered a guess that he was working for the other groups in the auction. ¡®Talk about a sore loser. What a fine mess you¡¯ve gotten yourself into, Aryon.¡¯This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I expected something like this, but I¡¯m impressed that it occured so fast.¡¯ said Bai Hua. Aryon kept looking outside, where the Bai Clan guards were now engaging with several attackers. ¡°Have you any idea on who it is?¡± ¡°Given that we¡¯re in the city and the guard hasn¡¯t been alerted? The prince and his governor lackey.¡± ¡®So it¡¯s a prince.¡¯ he thought. As royalty himself, he didn¡¯t approve of these acts.
The Green Blade Forest Sect party didn¡¯t return to the inn, but headed northeast. Despite their fury and disappointment at losing the auction, the sect kept itself calm. Calm enough to keep an eye out for any opportunities at turning things around. And now, an opportunity was passing near. Feng Yan and the rest of the auction party arrived at a house not far from the road leading to Bai Clan territory. He was surprised to find several more elders within as well as a few core disciples. What was most surprising was the Nascent Soul master along with them. ¡°Master!¡± said Liu Wong. He ran up to the Nascent Soul master, named Wang Xuefeng, and bowed deeply. Master Xuefeng patted his disciple on the head, then spoke. ¡°Disciples, tonight¡¯s events will decide the fate of our Green Blade Forest Sect.¡± Feng Yan and the others listened on with nervous faces. ¡°If we allow the Bai Clan the time to train cultivators with the Divine Imperial Smithing Technique, their power will rise exponentially as they equip their forces with superior weapons. Our proud sect will be reduced to a mere lackey to the Bai Clan.¡± ¡°But the heavens are kind. Others know of this and have already struck at the Bai Clan in an attempt to take this item. We, too, will join in! We will wait for our foes to bloody each other before making our move. So ready yourselves! If we are late by even one second, the scroll will enter the Bai Clan sanctuary in the city and our chances to retrieve it then will be slim.¡± Feng Yan¡¯s hand caressed the hilt of his sword. He was proud of his sect, having lived and trained there for so much of his life. To see it so threatened and in need stirred a fierce fire in his heart. Those who endanger the sect must pay with their lives! ¡°Do not fail tonight, disciples. Our Green Blade Forest Sect¡¯s fate depends on it! For the sect!¡± ¡° ¡°For the sect!¡± ¡°
Guardian Ji flexed his fingers. It had been a long time since his last battle. But this tide of foes seemed neverending. Their cultivations ranged from high Foundation Realm to high Soul Core Realm. Not a problem when compared to his Nascent Soul third-level; he could slaughter dozens of them with ease. His problem was that he couldn¡¯t fathom the total strength of their assailants. They may even have Nascent Soul practitioners of their own. Sensing a lull in the battle, he returned to the Bai Clan siblings¡¯ side with a dead body in tow. He found them near the fallen litter, surrounded by guards and accompanied by the foreigner lord. After informing the young mistress of his worries, he showed them the body of the dead man, revealing his face. ¡°I know him. He¡¯s from the Ye Clan.¡± said Guardian Ji. ¡°So the Ye Clan as well¡­ Is Ye Shao in bed with the eighth prince? Or is he being used as fodder? Hmph. Regardless, it is unlikely that either of them have shown their full hand yet. Where are the reinforcements?¡± ¡°I do not know, young mistress.¡± The Bai Clan had mobilized their forces for this very day, their purpose being to keep guard of the young mistress should they win the scroll¡­ or steal it from the victor had they lost the bidding. But now those forces were not here. ¡°Could they have been delayed?¡± ¡°Possibly.¡± said the young mistress. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving. We¡¯ll be safe once we reach the Iron Hall.¡± ¡°I will have to part with you then, madam.¡± said the foreign lord. ¡°I have no part in this at all, and do not wish to be entangled in it.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± replied the young mistress. ¡°But it is not safe to wander outside in this area. I would advise lord to accompany us; our sanctuary, Iron Hall, is a strong place that can keep us safe even from an army.¡± ¡°A tempting offer, but no thank you. And worry not; I can keep myself safe.¡± The young mistress looked reluctant to let him go, but did so anyway. Lord Aryon gave a bow and walked away into the night. When he vanished from view, Guardian Ji gave the order to keep moving. Chapter Twenty-One: Chaos in the Night (II) Roads at the northeast side of Dragon Border Gate City. Under an Invisibility spell, Aryon ran southwest, to where he believed the Soft Mist Inn would be. ¡®I¡¯ll wait for a few days for this ruckus to end, hole myself up in the cave. Then I''ll go to this ¡®Iron Hall¡¯ and negotiate for the crystal¡¯s exchange . Provided that they¡¯re still alive for that.¡¯ And if they weren''t, then that¡¯s a shame. He¡¯ll be hideously delayed; he didn¡¯t know where to find another crystal. But it¡¯s better than being delayed and in conflict with local powers. He zipped through the major roads and walkways, knowing well that events of skullduggery such as this will have the actors weaving through the more hidden alleyways. Yet he underestimated the heightened senses of these cultivators. As he ran through an empty, dim-lit road he felt the earth suddenly rise beneath his step. Aryon fell down with a loud crash, knocking him out of his invisibility. He looked at the risen shelf of earth half his height, cursing. ¡®I should¡¯ve cast a silencing spell on myself.¡¯ ¡°There, see! I knew I heard footsteps.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± ¡°I dunno, but his armour looks valuable. Should we¡­¡± Five men dressed in dark clothes approached him. Aryon stood up, the Staff of Kings secured in hand, and spoke to them as they drew closer. ¡°Friends, friends! Let¡¯s not be hasty. I am not your foe. I was just leaving this area a-¡± ¡°Shut up. Boys, go get him and bring him back to the chief. He will want to meet with this rich man.¡± ¡°Haha. Let¡¯s nick a few of those rings, too.¡± ¡®Why is it so hard to engage in diplomacy here?¡¯ ¡° [Mass Suggestion] ¡° The five immediately stopped in their tracks. Standing tall with the staff in hand, he turned his eyeless gaze at his would-be attackers. ¡°I am not the opponent you want to fight.¡± he said in his most intimidating tone. ¡°Slowly back away and return to your master.¡± Without a word the assailants slowly backed away, then turned around and broke out into a full run. Aryon felt relieved as he saw them run back and made to leave himself¡­ ...Only to see another cultivator standing there on the road, looking straight at him. ¡°A coincidence to meet you, lord.¡± he said, bowing in the local custom. Aryon stared at the man for a second before asking. ¡°...I pray you are a¡­ peaceful man?¡± The man wore black cloth like all the others, but his poise betrayed him to be a soldier unlike those roughs and thugs before. ¡°I am not going to harm lord. Indeed, my master, Eighth Prince Tang Heng, wishes to talk with you.¡± ¡°Perhaps another time. I am sure your prince is-¡± ¡°I insist, lord.¡± interrupted the man. ¡°The eighth prince is not far. Lord can come with me and meet him now.¡± Aryon kept silent, thinking things over. ¡®I can flee, baffle him with illusions and speed off... or teleport away¡­ then wait this out and ignore the prince and the woman and everyone else¡­¡¯The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. He looked straight at the cultivator¡¯s eyes, seeing the resolution in them even in the dim light. ¡°...Lead on, then.¡± he said.
Liu Wong had never felt so excited. Also, afraid, enraged and exhilarated. An all out battle! The sect strike force of fifty practitioners slipped through the alleyways and streets of the city, heading for the main road the Bai Clan were known to be taking. Along the way they encountered many men in black, concealing clothes that tried to stop them. Green Blade Forest Sect prided itself in group fighting and cohesion. These facts showed themselves like never before in this battle as the sect practitioners cut and slashed their way towards their goal in a unified formation. Liu Wong kept up with his fellow sect members as they leapt from rooftops and crossed bloodied roads filled with enemies. Time by time they would face a clumsy ambush or encounter a group melee along the way, which they crushed without hesitation and trampled as they moved on. An order was given to halt beneath a tall building not far from their destination. He leapt onto a roof where his master and some elders kept a lookout. From their rooftop vantage they saw the litter moving at a snail¡¯s pace, forced to stop and defend themselves when attackers came. Elsewhere in the city around them, flashes of light and battle-cries came from hidden battlefields. ¡°This is chaos¡­ but our enemies are entangled, fighting each other¡± said his master Wang Xuefeng. ¡°Keep close and move! Now is our chance!¡±
Aryon was taken to a high pagoda overlooking the city. From that high perch he could see the chaos below: a part of the city had caught fire, its brightness only overshadowed by the flash of cultivators'' mystic arts. Inside the top floor were a great many guards, and three people he saw in the auction hall: the Ye Clan lord Ye Shao, the so-called Eighth Prince and his governor lackey. His escort walked to the prince¡¯s side, giving commands to the guards to stand sentry at the pagoda stair. ¡°Your highness, the foreigner lord.¡± said his escort. Aryon looked at the prince in question. He wore this land¡¯s scholar robes, black with gold trim and made of silk. His handsome features were framed by his long, dark hair that had a topknot. On his person was a golden belt with a scabbard where an equally-golden and ornate hilt peeked out from. The prince had been looking at Aryon ever since he came up the room, his covetous eyes probing his armour and the staff he held.. ¡°It is common courtesy to bow before imperial authority here, foreigner.¡± he began, not giving the usual local greeting. Aryon resisted the urge to retort and gave a small bow in the diplomat''s manner. ¡°Forgive me, your highness. I am... Lord Aryon, a representativefrom the faraway land ofTarminas.¡± he said in acourteous tone. ¡°How can I be of service to you?¡± He walked around Aryon, who stood ramrod-straight, in the center of the wide, circular room, inspecting him at every angle. ¡°Impressive armour.¡± ¡°It is. But you will be surprised to know that I cannot get out of this.¡± ¡°Oh? Is it cursed?¡± he said, stopping his movement. ¡®It is intentional.¡¯ he thought. ¡°...Pardon, your highness, but I am very pressed for time. What do you want with me?¡± ¡°Straight to the point, hm? Fine. Join me.¡± The prince returned to his original position in the room. All eyes were on him now. ¡°Bring yourself to my side and I will grant you a great many benefits, more so than your current hosts.¡° ¡°You are in the Nascent Soul Realm are you not? Men of that cultivation can find a high position at the imperial court or a mid-ranking officership in army. If you stay loyal and stand by my side until I ascend the throne, you and your descendants will reap the rewards of your service for generations.¡± ¡°A most generous offer, lord. But I must decline.¡± he said, bowing. ¡°I am a foreigner, as you¡¯ve said, and already in service to a liege. My place is at my own kingdom. I do not wish to meddle in your majesty¡¯s affairs.¡± ¡°So you refuse? Then, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯ll be your last decision.¡± The escort before gave a command, and the guards around him took up their spears and swords. Aryon paid them no attention, dropping his diplomatic overtones and continued. ¡°Let me walk away and it¡¯ll end better for both of us. You won¡¯t gain or lose anything, I assure you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired of the weak-willed and indecisive. Your kind of people love to take your ¡®neutral¡¯ stances and watch as men like me suffer and toil for my birthright, or plot in the dark with my enemies in secret. No. I won¡¯t have uncertain factors like you lurk in the shadows where I stand.¡± Ye Shao and the governor left via the window, leaping into the night with some personal guards in tow. Tang Heng followed them, waving his sleeves. ¡°Dai Yijun, Kill him.¡± Chapter Twenty-Two: Chaos in the Night (III) A pagoda in the northeast side of Dragon Border Gate City He could¡¯ve walked away from this. Made an easy escape and laid low for a while. But after hearing the prince¡¯s words, he received the confirmation he came here for. There was no laying low from this one. The guards rushed in at the command, weapons drawn. Aryon reacted quicker, however, and raised his staff. ¡° [Daylight]! ¡° The staff shone with blinding light like the sun itself. The guards stopped their tracks and averted their burning eyes from the glare. ¡° [Chain Lightning]! ¡° At Aryon¡¯s command, the shining light on the staff dimmed and faded away, replaced with crackling lightning. Bolts of electricity struck down the guards where they stood blinded, killing them outright. A shadow leapt from Aryon¡¯s side, punching towards him. Raising his hand, Aryon intoned. ¡°[Shiel- ¡° The shadow, Dai Yijun, was faster than Aryon¡¯s words. Bright runes flared up on the surface of his armour where the iron-like fist struck. Yet they could not stop Aryon from flying through the wooden wall and out the pagoda. ¡° [Feather Fall]! ¡° Aryon¡¯s descent slowed at the end of the arc, where he landed on a rooftop. From the dark sky came that shadow Dai Yijun, landing nearby. He eyed the stranger warily; he could not yet discern cultivation levels, but from his magic senses he could see his power being on par with a Nascent Soul master from Green Blade Forest Sect. ¡°Impressive defenses.¡± said he in complement. ¡°Your armour is bulky, but it will serve me well when I pry it from your corpse.¡± ¡°Come try. [Ray of Frost]. ¡° Dai Yijun leapt out of the way of the azure beam, zigzagging in a confusing but rapid manner towards him. Each step generated a dark after-image in its wake that moved for a split second in the opposite direction before vanishing. ¡®Is this what a movement technique is?¡¯ At a certain distance, Dai Yijun gave a leaping charge, fists out. ¡°Shadow Veil Twelve Hits!¡± ¡° [Wall of Stone]! ¡° An angled wall rose up before him to block the punches, yet such was their force that it began breaking under the assault, peppering Aryon with shards of stone. Before the wall broke completely, he tapped it with a finger. ¡° [Stone Shape]! ¡° Sharp spikes of stone as long and wide as an arm formed in the area where Dai Yijun was punching, injuring him despite his toughened body. He leapt backwards in retreat. Aryon didn¡¯t let him off so easily. With a mental command, the stone dome shattered into large pieces. With a verbal one followed by a twist of his hand, the pieces floated up into the air. ¡° [Telekinesis]! ¡° The shards flew towards Dai Yijun, who met the assault head on. With his bloodied fists, he struck at the stones and zigzagged again towards Aryon. ¡°Die!¡± He attempted another spell, but Dai Yijun was faster. He gripped Aryon¡¯s outstretched left arm and drove his own elbow down at the joint, breaking the bone beneath and bending the arm at an awkward angle.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Yet that didn¡¯t have the effect he wanted. Rather than scream in pain or stagger, Aryon looked at Dai Yijun and intoned some unintelligible words. ¡° [Polar Ray]! ¡° His bent arm was angled as such that it pointed near Dai Yijun¡¯s head. Still in control of his free hand, he shot a freezing ray directly at his defenseless face. A layer of frost coated Dai Yijun¡¯s face and neck all the way to his chest, causing him to stumble back in pain. As he attempted to scratch the ice off his eyes, Aryon stood up, cradling his broken arm. He set the top of the Staff of Kings on his struggling chest. ¡° [Flesh to Stone] ¡° There was a brief struggle from Dai Yijun as the spell spread out from his chest all the way up to the ends of his body. In the end, all that was left of him was a human statue of grey stone, contorted in pain. He took one last look at his opponent before he hurriedly sought for a way down. He had a meeting with a certain prince that couldn¡¯t be delayed.
The situation was now desperate in Feng Yan¡¯s eyes. Their attack came suddenly and with great force, utilising Green Blade Forest Sect¡¯s formation mystic art, Jade Cutting Wind, to slice apart the battling forces in the way of the litter. Those that came near their chevron-shaped ranks were quickly cut down by invisible winds, with the survivors being finished off by waiting blades. The lead elder in their formation could not be more than fifty paces away from that litter when Guardian Ji showed up. With a speedy landing he immediately stood in the way of their approaching formation and cast Bai Clan¡¯s Cloud Illusion mystic art. The sect practitioners found themselves surrounded by thick clouds that obscured their vision. Then came a scream, followed by another, and another¡­ Master Wang Xuefeng used his spirit energy to dispel the screen and engaged Guardian Ji, who fled to the rooftops. But the damage was done; the key sect elders maintaining the Jade Cutting Wind formation were killed by his hand and the formation was dispersed. Now the sect practitioners were embroiled in a deadly melee with the rest of the forces of the prince and the Bai Clan. He stood side by side with Liu Wong and a few core disciples, aiming to take out Foundation Realm and weak Soul Core foes. Even with the realm divide, they were still able to take down low-level Soul Core Realm cultivators using formation techniques and mystic arts. Moving as a group, the six or so core disciples aided their elders in clearing a path towards the litter once more, cutting down enemy after enemy in a flashing fan of bloodied steel. They got closer and closer before another anomaly showed up in the battle. A young man wearing black-and-gold stood at the top of a roof overlooking the road next to a thin, red-armoured man. ¡°Bai Clan and Green Blade Forest Sect!¡± The thunderous words rang out across the chaotic streets, carrying the might of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. All fighting ceased for a moment. Even Guardian Ji and Master Xuefeng stopped their combat to listen. ¡°Lay down your arms and swear allegiance to me, and I will forgive you all for this chaos you¡¯ve caused.¡± said the prince, smiling. ¡°And return to me my Divine Imperial Smithing Technique as well. I have need of it to continue my quest to gain my rightful throne.¡± ¡°Heed me, and your groups will receive merit and rewards when I begin my conquests. Do not, and I will not hesitate to burn your foundations to the ground.¡± The black-clothed forces of the prince and the Ye Clan regrouped, as did the Bai Clan and their Green Blade Forest Sect. Master Xuefeng returned to them as well, as did Guardian Ji to the litter. From the window of the litter came a female voice, beautiful but not any softer than the prince¡¯s. ¡°No.¡± The window opened, revealing the Bai Clan mistress and her brother within. ¡°The last time any clan bowed to you, you took from them and drained them dry without returning a single spirit stone of what you owed. Your constant battles against your siblings deprived them of their strength and loved ones. Your reign over them was so terrible that they finally conspired against you in secret, only to be denied revenge when you fled here like a coward.¡± ¡°The Bai Clan¡¯s answer is no. We will not be cowed by you, you shameless and desperate prince. Our fate is our own!¡± The Bai Clan guard gave a cheer at their mistress¡¯s words. Even Feng Yan and his fellow sect members were stirred. After hearing the deeds of the Eighth prince, their resolve to resist him burned bright. Their sect will never bow to any tyrant. ¡°Impudent!¡± roared the prince. ¡°You dare-¡± Before he could finish his angered words, Feng Yan saw a great ball of flame head towards the prince. Seeing the incoming danger, Tang Heng and Ye Shao jumped to another rooftop before the fiery ball struck their previous position, which was destroyed in a shower of sparks and stone. "Who-!?" ¡°Over there!¡± cried a sect elder. From the dark streets and into the dim light came an armoured figure, his steel dusty and dirtied. He held a white staff in one hand, and his free arm swung limply on his side. Liu Wong gave a joyful cry, and Feng Yan felt his spirits rise when he saw that figure. Chapter Twenty-Three: Kings and Princes (I) Roads on the northeast side of Dragon Border Gate City ¡°You!? You do not know what¡¯s good for you, do you foreigner?! How did Dai Yijun-¡± ¡°Be quiet!¡± Every word the prince spoke seemed to stoke a burning fire in Aryon¡¯s core. His contemptuous disregard of others, his condescending attitude towards those beneath him, and the words of Bai Hua on his past actions placed Tang Hang as something hateful in his eyes. Before the prince could retort, he yelled out in anger. ¡°You dare to call yourself royalty after discarding the noblesse oblige? You speak of thrones and rulership, when you ignore the conduct and duty of kings? You are no more a prince than the vilest devil in the pit, and I will never abide a tyrant.¡± ¡°Enough! I will have what I seek, even if it means cutting all of you down tonight. Kill them!¡± The prince¡¯s forces clashed once again with the Bai Clan and Green Blade Forest Sect. Aryon ignored the chaotic melee, casting Dimension Door to appear at a rooftop not far from the prince and his companion Ye Shao. The duo took no notice, for they were distracted by two more approaching figures. ¡°Guardian Ji and the sect master. Hah! You think you can take down this prince?¡± The former enemies cast their differences aside to attack the prince. From Aryon¡¯s vantage he could see Guardian Ji engaging Ye Shao while the sect master duelled the prince in a clash of swords. ¡®This is ideal.¡¯ said Aryon. It felt great to be unrestricted by some high-speed grasshopper of a cultivator. Both challengers held their ground, but were at a disadvantage given their earlier fights compared to the freshly-arrived prince and lord. Aryon drew in close as he could, incanting a long chant as the duel continued. Finishing, he struck his staff¡¯s end down on the ground. The four paused momentarily when Guardian Ji and the sect master¡¯s bodies were surrounded by a white glow. When it faded, both receiving parties looked down at their forms, confused. Then they broke out into grins, and charged in once more. One could see a difference in the combat afterwards: Guardian Ji and Master Xuefeng were executing their moves and techniques at a greater pace than before. They dodged and predicted the lordly duo¡¯s moves, their strikes had an added strength behind them and they seemed less tired after every bout. ¡®The wonders of enchantment.¡¯ thought Aryon. Now to give his gifts to the enemy. ¡°You and your foreign tricks!¡± said Ye Shao. Momentarily pushing off Guardian Ji, he dove straight towards the casting Aryon with a mace readied in his hand. ¡®Of all the damn weapons you had to use, it just had to be the very thing I made!¡¯This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡° [Slow]! ¡° The speeding bullet that was lord Shao suddenly moved at a jogging pace just a few feet from where Aryon stood. Aryon raised his staff, pointing forward at the confused Ye Shao. ¡° [Disinteg- ¡± A rumble shook the building they were on, causing Aryon to stumble and break his concentration. Master Xuefeng had just executed his Earth Sundering Cut technique, slicing the whole building clean in two yet missing his target. All four combatants jumped up to another roof; even Ye Shao shrugged off the Slow spell and made a successful leap. But Aryon fell down with the debris, landing heavily on the street below as a deluge of rock and wood fell on him.
Liu Wong was distracted when the lord fell off the building, but was relieved in an instant when he saw him crawl out of the debris, spouting foreign curses. Standing side by side with his fellow disciples, Liu Wong continued to battle with the incoming waves of opponents. With waning vigour, they held their ground and swung their blades together at each approaching foe. The Bai Clan guardss were also clashing with the black-dressed forces of the prince. An unspoken truce formed between their groups as they fought against a common foe, yet did nothing to aid the other. As for their original target, Bai Hua¡¯s ¡®heroic¡¯ defiance of the prince had turned the three-sided battle into a two-on-one melee. When the battle resumed and the Nascent Soul lords were distracted, the Bai Clan mistress and her brother had slipped away into the night in the company of their personal guard. ¡®She¡¯s too clever.¡¯ thought Liu Wong as he looked in the distance. They continued standing in battle formations when a bright light rapidly approached their location. The battling lords above shattered parts of the nearby buildings and killed Soul Core Realm practitioners and below with stray mystic arts and techniques. One such mystic art launched by the prince, a speeding burst of flame shaped like an eagle, missed his master and was now headed their way. ¡°Tang Imperial Fire Art! Dodge!¡± The disciples broke formation and fled to any direction they could move. Liu Wong leapt out of the way, but a wave of force and heat blasted him further off from his intended destination. Separated from the rest, Liu Wong scrambled to his feet and made to return to his sect members when a yell caught his attention. Turning, he saw a familiar disciple wounded on the ground, hounded by an equally-injured Soul Core practitioner. ¡°Feng Yan!¡±
Aryon rose out of the rubble, dazed, just in time to see several more enemies come for him. He raised his staff to ¡®greet¡¯ them. ¡° [Freezing Sphere]. ¡° A light-blue struck the ground at the middle of the group, whereupon it exploded in a wave of frost that turned them instantly to statues of ice. ¡® Where are the- Ah, there!¡¯ Far away from the main battle, above the roofs of the city, he saw the telltale sparks of their clash. With his dangling but still-usable arm, he tapped his thigh and cast the Expeditious Retreat spell, then ran at high speed towards the fight. The further the distance the Nascent Soul cultivators were from the main battle, the more powerful their attacks became. Closing the distance, Aryon could now see the full and terrifying might of these combatants. Master Xuefeng displayed his mastery of the Earth Sundering Cut. Aryon saw him raise the very sword he gave away to sect from above his head down into the earth, and when it landed a gash a quarter of a kilometer long split earth and stone before the strike. Tang Heng displayed his mastery of the Tang Imperial Fire Art in retaliation, with each arcing slash of his golden sword producing a wave of flame in the shape of birds of prey. These birds became blazing fires where they landed, scorching stone and burning wood. He couldn¡¯t tell what the other two were doing; Guardian Ji had created a moving veil of clouds that followed him where he went, obscuring those within. Whatever they were doing in there caused sparks to illuminate the cloud and destroy anything closeby, Soon the fires began spreading towards the parts of the city that didn¡¯t evacuate for tonight¡¯s murderous events. He even saw a few dead people here and there, of various ages, hidden under fallen debris or burning wreckages. ¡®Have they no regard for the city and its people?¡¯ he thought panickedly. ¡®This fight needs to end now before the fire spreads to the rest of the buildings.¡¯ With that, he sped up his pace to follow that whirlwind of fire and destruction. Chapter Twenty-Four: Kings and Princes (II) Roads on the northeast side of Dragon Border Gate City Guardian Ji struck at his foe relentlessly, yet even with the strange blessings Aryon bestowed he was still being held at bay by the Ye Clan lord. His Heavenfall Fist Technique combined with the Bai Clan¡¯s Cloud Illusion mystic art usually gave him a deadly advantage over most close-combat practitioners. But Ye Shao wore a set of first-level Earth-grade armour that absorbed most of his blows. Coupled with his new Earth-grade mace, it was difficult for Guardian Ji to make a move without taking some damage in return. But he continued to hold on. If the Green Blade Forest Sect master can defeat the prince or if lord Aryon can come in time, they might just be able to tip the scales... Ye Shao swung his mace, now wreathed in electricity, in an arc. A wave of spirit energy manifested as wind to push Guardian Ji back and dispel the Cloud Illusion. With the illusion gone, the Ye Clan lord yelled. ¡°Now!¡± Four familiar twangs sounded from a nearby rooftop. Guardian Ji turned to the side to see several deadly crossbow bolts imbued with spirit energy heading towards him. With no time to dodge, he deflected the bolts with his hands. Ye Shao had expected this and long made his move. His lightning-wreathed mace struck Guardian Ji on the side when he was turned, causing him to stagger. He moved to defend himself only to see the sparking mace falling towards his head. Guardian Ji¡¯s last thoughts were of his wards. ¡®Farewell, young mistress and master. Good luck.¡¯
Aryon cursed when he saw that blue-robed body fall from the roof. He thought he had time to prepare some things while Ye Shao and and Guardian Ji fought, but those treacherous marksmen put an end to Guardian Ji with their distraction a moment before he could act. He made an invocation and waved his staff sideways. Hurricane winds swept the roof with the crossbowmen, sending them down violently to the earth and their deaths. With the distractions gone, he set his preparations in motion. ¡° [Magic Missile]! ¡° Purple darts of purest magic flew unerringly from his staff towards his intended target. Ye Shao was struck from behind just as he recovered his breath and turned to aid the prince against the Green Blade Forest Sect master. ¡°You outlander trash! You dare!¡± Ye Shao leapt from the roof the combat was on and down to the street where Aryon was. With deadly speed and force his mace fell on Aryon¡¯s head from above, but Aryon made no move to dodge. ¡°You lose.¡± he said, just before the blow struck him square on his crowned helm. But he didn¡¯t fly back or fall to the ground, instead he began crumbling into black fragments that vanished like smoke. ¡°An illusion?!¡± Before it faded away, the crumbling image pointed down on the ground. Ye Shao saw something glowing at his feet. ¡°Not good!¡± The Symbol of Stunning activated before he could react, and Ye Shao felt his mind and body struck with a blinding pain that dazed him. While he was reeling from the symbol¡¯s effects, the true Aryon stepped out of an alleyway, leveling his staff at his direction. ¡° [Disint- ¡° Thrumming crossbow bolts hammered at the back of his head and upper body, breaking his concentration once again before clattering to the floor, unable to pierce his Tarminian steel. Several more dark-garbed cultivators emerged from the other side of the alley, stowing away their crossbows and moving in with swords drawn.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The grumbling Aryon turned to face them with a spell readied. ¡° [Acid Fog]! ¡° He turned away from the grisly sight of melting flesh and bone to attack the Ye Clan lord, but he was already gone. Further off, he saw him being carried away by his men. ¡®This is the second time this has happened today. That pasty lord sure has good luck.¡¯ Despite his escape, Aryon decided to write him off from tonight¡¯s battle before heading for a certain prince.
Liu Wong sped forward like never before, his legs aching from his exertion. Yet his mind was focused on one thing: Help Feng Yan! The inner disciple had been blown away by the Tang prince¡¯s flame mystic art and nursed a broken shoulder and leg. Now, a wounded Soul Core practitioner was limping his way towards the injured disciple, intending to finish him off. Before he could close in for the killing blow however, Liu Wong had already made his move from the side. Earth Sundering Cut! The cut landed right where he wanted, but the Soul Core practitioner took only minor wounds. Still, he drew back and roared in anger at his additional injury. ¡°Damn sect brats!¡± said the black-garbed practitioner. ¡°Die for me!¡± Despite being wounded and limping, he was still a first-level Soul Core Realm practitioner. The realm divide between him and Liu Wong was too great to overcome even with the practitioner¡¯s current state. The wounded practitioner drew his own sword and executed a technique. Water from the air coalesced onto the blade which then formed in its shape. The new water-blade was twice as long and just as sharp. He struck at Liu Wong with several slashes, his water-blade twisting and bending unlike a regular straight edge. Liu Wong parried his strikes and was continuously pushed back, receiving a few cuts of his own from the enemy¡¯s shifting blade. Only the practitioner¡¯s wounded state saved him from being overwhelmed. Liu Wong knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to outlast him, and the other sect members were too preoccupied to help. Slowly but surely he began to tire; one good strike from the enemy was all he needed to finish him. He needed to end this on his own before that. He knew where the flaw in the foe¡¯s defence was ever since they started; his left side from the leg to the chest was cut and bleeding, which was the cause of his limp. Yet every attempt to attack that point was rebuffed with a deadly counterattack. Liu Wong just couldn¡¯t land a hit. A strong swing knocked him backwards when he parried, leaving him stumbling but standing and armed. The practitioner moved in for the kill. ¡°When you die, wait a while. I¡¯ll send your friend over to accompany you in hell!¡± He threw his full force at Liu Wong with a lunging strike. Liu Wong, recovering his footing, opted for offense and attacked. In that moment, he closed his eyes and focused, not on this final strike, but on a ring on his finger. It was the gift the lord gave him for being his study partner. He learned the truth behind the power of this ring through long experimentation, during those days with him and Feng Yan at the lord¡¯s cave residence. When his spirit energy flowed into the ring, Liu Wong opened his eyes. In that brief moment when he regained his vision he saw what he had to do. He didn¡¯t bother to dodge the strike, but shifted to the enemy¡¯s left side and allowed the blade to stab him, in such a way that he wouldn¡¯t be killed instantly. Despite this, he still closed the distance between them to place his vulnerable side within his reach. When he found his chance, the blade on his right arm stabbed upwards in an angle, piercing the practitioner¡¯s rib and buried itself completely inside. His foe fell on the ground, dead before he landed. Liu Wong looked at the blade through his own body before keeling over to the side. There was no pain on his face, nor suffering, but a calm look of satisfaction.
Nobody won on that fateful night. The prince fled the very moment Ye Shao was incapacitated. Under the cover of his guards, who gave their lives distracting the sect master and Aryon, he made a successful escape to the north, towards Dragon Border Gate where he made his headquarters. Ye Shao also escaped, returning under guard to the Ye Clan¡¯s fortified town just south of the city. With their leaders gone, their forces also withdrew to lick their wounds and plan their next move. The Bai Clan made off with the scroll successfully, yet at a cost to nearly three-fifths of their forces. Guardian Ji, one of their Nascent Soul experts, was also slain, which lowered the Bai Clan¡¯s strength to dangerous levels. Green Blade Forest Sect could be considered the least damaged of the actors in the drama. But they left that battlefield with only half of what they came, and without any gains save for the wrath of a certain prince. On a flying ship they left, with their wounded and their dead in tow. Many grieved, especially one disciple as he looked down on his wounded friend. As for a certain mage, he left that city on that flying ship with nothing achieved, and so much to do... Chapter Twenty-Five: By Morning Light Green Blade Forest Sect grounds. Morning of the next day. Aryon watched as the sect¡¯s ¡®apothecaries¡¯ treated the wounded. The medicine in this land was strange in his eyes: they were often in the form of a solid, round pill rather than the liquid substances he was familiar with. But he didn¡¯t doubt their effects; he saw many wounded cultivators getting up after taking the medicines despite taking serious wounds and broken bones. But there was one patient that didn¡¯t get up instantly after taking his. ¡°How serious is the wound?¡± asked Aryon. ¡°Serious, lord.¡± replied the head apothecary. ¡°But he will recover soon. Reverend master Wang Xuefeng has sent down ingredients from his personal stores. Our best apothecary is already concocting them into high-grade medicines.¡± ¡®A good master, him.¡¯ ¡°I see. Please take care of the boy.¡± said Aryon with a nod. He looked to his own broken arm with a pause before asking. ¡°...Do you know where I can find a chicken?¡± ___ Spirit chickens were much like the chickens in his land, only bigger and in possession of multi-colored feathers. He was able to obtain one from the outer sect, who were gracious enough to give him one for free (but he did compensate them in the end with spirit stones). Returning to his cave residence with a bound chicken in tow, he sealed his cave entrance from entry and warded the room from scrying. Feeling secured, he set down the Staff of Kings to lean on a wall and the bound chicken on his table in the cave then went to work. He couldn¡¯t take all his armour off even if he wanted, so he couldn¡¯t inspect the damage. But he could remove the gauntlets. Jimmying it off his armguard, he pulled off the shining steel to reveal a hand wrapped in silk, which he slowly unwound. A skeletal hand lay beneath those silken layers. Picking his hand up with the other, he placed it on the bound chicken. At the merest touch of his bony fingers, the chicken suddenly stopped struggling and lay on the table as if it were dead. Aryon shook his head and used his still-gauntleted hand to move a scroll on the table nearer to him. Placing his armoured hand on top of the parchment, he shut off his vision and poured a small amount of magic down on the scroll. A burst of dark energy responded to his magic. Controlling that nucleus of sinister magic, he made it flow from his armoured hand to the skeletal one. The chicken could do nothing in its paralyzed state as the dark magic poured into its body. It quickly began to wither away, as if it were aging and losing moisture at a rapid pace. After a few seconds not even the bones were left behind; all that marked the chicken¡¯s former presence was a pile of dust on the table. Aryon felt vitality flow through his arm and into the broken joint, until at last he regained a sense of movement from it. He paused as if to savor it, then quickly re-wound his skeletal hand in silk and wore his gauntlets again. ¡®Only four more scrolls left.¡¯ said Aryon. One of the bigger ironies in Aryon¡¯s current state was that, despite his undead nature, he had no necromancy spells. Tarminian law forbade its magi from using dark magics, which included necromancy in its list. It didn¡¯t stop the mage-kings from making Relic Kings like himself, but they didn¡¯t dare push beyond that line after stepping over it.The mage-kings went to great lengths to cover up the truth, going so far as to identify their Relic Kings as ¡®constructs in the image of former kings¡¯, like golems.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Necromancy, therefore, didn¡¯t ¡®exist¡¯ in official Tarminian schools or spellbooks, and being caught with materials for it was a one-way ticket out of the kingdom. Because of that he had no reliable way of healing himself. Even the scrolls of Vampiric Touch, one of which he just used, came from a neighboring kingdom and couldn¡¯t be replaced. ¡®Let¡¯s not get ourselves broken up again.¡¯ ___ With his arm healed, Aryon spent the next hour thinking of his next moves. ¡®The full moon arrives in two months or so. I¡¯ll need to finish that mana-focus before then¡­ but I have no doubt that the prince and his lackeys will try and stop me during the ritual. So I need them out of the picture as well. So the plan is to sweep the board clean of my opponents, finish the crystal and cast the spell. Easy. But I¡¯ll need more allies for this other than the sect¡­ and I know just who to ask. I need to pay her a visit in the end, anyway. Right. Let¡¯s prepare some things first.¡¯
Feng Yan spent the next five days after the battle tending to Liu Wong. After his own injuries healed in a day thanks to the sect¡¯s medicine, he visited the unconscious Liu Wong during any of his spare times to make sure he was well. Feng Yan had no true family of his own. He had been adopted by an outer sect disciple when he was but a baby abandoned at the sect¡¯s doorstep. From there, he spent his whole life rising from a menial in the outer sect, to an official outer disciple and finally an inner disciple. He had many acquaintances, but only a few close friends in the sect, of which Liu Wong was one. Yet he regarded the younger boy in the highest light after the events at Dragon Border Gate City. His rescue of him, and the price he paid for it¡­ was something he could never make up to. Lord Aryon also visited his study partner at erratic times, but he himself was usually gone from the sect on some errand, leaving the main gates before vanishing into the forest. He would then return to the sect covered in blood and dirt, holding several beastskin scrolls. Seeing lord Aryon so busy and bloodied, yet moving forward in his noble manner, raised Feng Yan¡¯s battle spirit. ¡®I need to become stronger.¡¯ The sect was now preparing for their inevitable clash with the powers in Dragon Border Gate Prefecture. Every disciple and elder was training non-stop to perfect their skills or sent out on patrols to probe their opponents. Even the Nascent Soul masters and grandmaster took a more active duty in managing the sect. Feng Yan couldn¡¯t bear the thought of being left behind when everyone was pushing forward. The sight of Liu Wong, a child younger than him despite his higher cultivation, protecting him was... ¡®I will not be caught being weak again. I need more power to defend the things I cherish.¡¯ Saying his goodbyes to his sleeping friend, Feng Yan left the infirmary to duel a few of his fellow inner disciples.
Aryon found out through his experimentations that stronger beasts in the forest made for better scrolls. Especially when inscribed with specific spells bearing specific elements. ¡®That came as no surprise, given the nature of these so-called spirit beasts. They¡¯ve been exposed to the high magic of this land for a long time.¡¯ Take the ¡®fire¡¯ spirit beasts for example. For a forest filled with trees there was a surprisingly large amount of fire-based creatures there. They apparently liked to come down from the caves in the nearby mountains to feast on the ¡®Wood¡¯ element creatures (¡®Why wood as an element? It¡¯s a plant.¡¯). Still, their skins made for great scrolls for fire-based spells. He made the finishing touches to one last beastskin scroll before setting it atop a neat stack of others. He admired his handiwork, patting himself on the back. ¡®That¡¯ll be useful for the coming days. Maybe a bit more than the other thing I set down.¡¯ He left his cave some time in the early afternoon. Even from his cave residence below a hill¡¯s base he could see (and hear) disciples training on the grounds or moving at quick paces. His hosts and their lessers were preparing everything for the onset of the coming storm. It was quite inspiring seeing them train and work all day every day to increase their strengths. Even Feng Yan, that youth, had taken things very seriously after his fellow disciple¡¯s fall to save him, though he felt it was a bit masochistic going around challenging people and getting beat up every day just to hone one¡¯s skills. Seeing everyone so energetic gave him a bit of hope that they¡¯ll make it through all this. It also made him determined to see this prefecture have a happy ending for all. With that in mind, he made his way to the sect gate to visit a specially-prepared place in the forest. ¡®Time for a little chat with a certain vixen.¡¯ Chapter Twenty-Six: Iron Hall Dragon Border Gate City, northeastern side. It didn¡¯t take long for Aryon to arrive in the city. On the contrary, the trip to the city from the sect was shorter than his little walk from the cave residence to the forest just outside the sect. That¡¯s because of the teleportation circle he made a few days ago. He created this as a way to avoid the roads (and therefore avoid the many eyes on them) as well as an expedient method to travel back and forth between two very important locations. Aryon, under illusion spells, took one of the days in his preparations to explore the northeastern part of the city to find a good exit point. Finding an old, abandoned warehouse, he set up the city-end of the circles in one of the storage sheds, protected by more illusions and traps. It was from this place that Aryon arrived at. Shaking his head clear of the dizzying experience, he took up an invisibility spell and made his way to the Bai Clan base.
Though sandwiched between two enemy factions on the north and south, Bai Hua felt safest in Iron Hall. Iron Hall was a large palace-like structure surrounded by a lavish courtyard and high, imposing walls. It was beautiful to the eye, yet was made for function as well as form; it¡¯s high walls were armed with secret ballistae and manned by crossbowmen bearing Imperial Crossbows that could menace even Nascent Soul cultivators. It also held a barracks and several armouries and training rooms underground, from which the Bai Clan¡¯s cultivators train and prepare for any task the main family sends them out to. No enemy in her eyes could breach their defenses. At least not without paying a heavy price. In the recent days after the showdown at the city, she had been busier like never before. A steady stream of informants came and went from the hall under the strictest guard. Bai Hua insisted on meeting them all personally, to the chagrin of the head guard. Twice already in the past days had assassins tried to take her life, and many more attempted to steal their hard-won prize, the Divine Imperial Smithing Technique, from the clan¡¯s private vault. But she held firm, managing the clan in her father¡¯s long absence. She was just about to take a break when a guard came to her with a request from a certain armoured lord. ¡°Send the lord Aryon inside¡± she said, returning to the high seat in the audience room. After the guards¡¯ inspection, the tall, steel-clad figure of the outlander lord entered the room bearing that white staff he never seems to let go. Bowing in a dignified way with his hand to his chest, he gave his greetings to her in all the mannerisms of one of noble upbringing. ¡°I return, madam. I pray you are well?¡± ¡°Well enough, lord. You will forgive me, but I am quite busy and didn¡¯t make appropriate preparations for your visit. You must know that we are, ah¡­ experiencing troubles currently.¡± ¡°I know it well.¡± he said, nodding. ¡°Indeed, I am here to help you with these troubles.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± said Bai Hua, spirits rising. She had heard first-hand accounts of the battle between the Nascent Soul lords. She was devastated at the loss of Guardian Ji, but the apparent death of Dai Yijun from being turned to stone as well as the prince¡¯s retreat from the field gave her some comfort. ¡°Mm. I see. You wish for my aid against the prince whom you¡¯ve offended.¡± she continued.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°That is so.¡± ¡°Then I will gladly help you against our common enemy.¡± she said, nodding. ¡°What do you need?¡± The lord stepped forward. ¡°Information.¡±
¡°Tang Heng has taken over the garrison and defences of Dragon Border Gate, at the mountain pass just north of the city. From our informants, we know he¡¯s recuperating from your duel last night and preparing his forces. Already the flow of goods and caravans from the north have stopped because of him seizing it for himself.¡± Aryon nodded as he continued listening. Bai Hua had led him from the audience hall to a more private room where a map of Dragon Border Gate Prefecture lay on a great table. ¡°The Bai Clan and the city¡¯s cultivators had ousted that dog Dongguan Baofeng and taken over the city and its defenses. We can hold off the prince for a time, but his forces are massing, and soon it will be great enough to overwhelm the prefecture as a whole.¡± ¡°Mm. Where is he getting men from? I thought he fled his old power base.¡± ¡°Many will follow the strong, provided that they are promised a share of the spoils. The Eighth Prince might be the least of his siblings, but he¡¯s still a fifth-level Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. From what we¡¯ve gathered, he¡¯s recruited mountain bandits and brigands into his ranks, and press-ganged the rest.¡± Aryon slowly shook his head at that. ¡®He really is scum.¡¯ ¡°And his lapdog in the south?¡± ¡°Ye Shao has holed up in Viridian Town, the Ye Clan¡¯s base south of here, and has cut off the river and roads, separating us from the villages at the coast.. He¡¯s currently waiting for the prince to make his move before joining up to take the city.¡± ¡°How do we deal with him?¡± ¡°Ye Shao is the lynchpin that holds the alliance between the Ye and the prince together. If we kill him, the Ye Clan¡¯ll be disorganised enough to attack and eliminate in one fell swoop.¡± Aryon looked up to the woman in disbelief. ¡°I can bear an assassination, but attacking a town and killing off a whole family is going past my morals.¡± Bai Hua stood up, eyeing him with annoyance. ¡°We do not have time for morals, l-¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you said that! No time for morals, indeed!¡± Aryon slapped the table, shaking the wooden figures and markers on the map. ¡°I have¡­ done terrible things in my own time. But I try - Try - to be moral in everything I do. And when I do not, I blame myself for the results of my actions and seek to atone for it.¡± ¡°Your people are so quick to jump to your swords at every slight. I cannot tolerate it, this senseless cycle of violence. Is there a way to settle the Ye Clan without killing the whole town, too?¡± Aryon stood up tall and stared at her with his eye-holes. She returned the stare with one of her own. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then I will find a way. Thank you for the information.¡± he said, picking up the staff leaning on the table. ¡°...Perhaps I won¡¯t succeed. But I least I can say that I tried. Farewell, madam.¡± He turned away from the table and the young mistress and headed for the door. ¡°Wait.¡± Stopping at the word, Aryon turned to look at Bai Hua. ¡°I can think of one way.¡±
Feng Yan trained and fought throughout the whole day. His obsession with strength and his desire to protect that which he held dear gave him the energy to continue on despite his ragged state. He had gone so far as to duel the core disciples in the recent days, who didn¡¯t hold back anything during the fights. Feng Yan felt no regret for this, nor any disdain at his opponents; his mind was focused only on the battles he fought. Because of his persistence in the past few days, his cultivation had finally broken through to the third level of Foundation. ¡®But it¡¯s not enough.¡¯ he thought. Strength was the only thing that mattered in this land. And if he were to show weakness, everything he had would be taken away by a stronger foe. ¡®Push through! I must push through the pain!¡¯ He stood up shakily, forcing his body up against his aching nerves¡­ and suddenly received a deluge of ice water on his head. Feng Yan nearly stumbled from the shock and turned to face the culprit. ¡°You had the look of a madman in your eyes, boy.¡± said the high figure of lord Aryon. ¡°You need a break.¡± ¡°...Lord.¡± he said after a pause. ¡°...Do you¡­ want something?¡± ¡°Ah, right. Yes.¡± he replied. ¡°You remember that Ye Clan boy in the sect? The one from the hunt in the forest, with the big, flaming ape? I need him.¡± Chapter Twenty-Seven: Scheduling an Appointment House in the inner sect grounds, Green Blade Forest Sect. Feng Yan led the lord to one of the dorms in the inner sect. The room where Ye Kang was wasn¡¯t hard to find; It was the only one with guards watching over it. Ye Kang had been put under house arrest following the clash at the city, due to his blood ties with the Ye Clan. Only the lack of evidence to any true crime prevented his banishment or premature execution. He followed right behind Lord Aryon as he waved the guards off and entered the room. Inside, they saw their person cease his meditations, standing up to give a respectful bow to the lord and paying no attention to him. ¡°How can this disciple help lord?¡± he asked in a monotone voice. Feng Yan took a good look at Ye Kang: his once-muscled body had thinned, his hair was unkempt and his eyes, once filled with arrogance, were now subdued and dull. Aryon tapped the floor with his ever-present white staff, wherein a muffled boom sounded on impact, followed by a wave of air filled with spirit energy that swept the room. ¡°You can talk freely for a time. I assure you, nobody in this room but us will hear it.¡± Ye Kang breathed a sigh yet kept a neutral face. ¡°Again, what does lord want?¡± ¡°Your father is the Ye Clan patriarch, yes?¡± ¡°He is. All of the sect knows.¡± Even Feng Yan knew that; his status as the heir of the Ye Clan is, by and large, the biggest reason for his conceited attitude. His genius talent and duo-spirit veins couldn¡¯t compare to the fact that, without doing anything at all, he will come to inherit the mastery over one of Dragon Border Gate Prefecture¡¯s local powers. ¡°The heir of a clan, yet here you are training in the sect. Why?¡± ¡°Does lord not know? Father was a man who wanted to build good relations with everyone when he moved the Ye Clan here. Since he and the grandmaster had a friendship before, he sent me here to be taught under their masters before I inherited the Ye Clan¡¯s heirloom techniques.¡± Aryon nodded. ¡°I see. Know, then, that I am here because of your father.¡± ¡°Lord must know he¡¯s incapacitated.¡± ¡°I know. But not how he is in that state.¡± Ye Kang sighed and began telling his tale, with both he and the lord leaning in to listen.
¡®Poison. So it¡¯s an inheritance drama.¡¯ The plot was something even Aryon could see coming a mile away. Elder brother gains power. Younger brother becomes jealous. Brother plots against brother, poisoning the other. The end. Ye Kang¡¯s story was a little less tragic. He had been sent to the sect at a young age to foster good relations. But after a month in the sect he was told by people loyal to his father to stay put, unless he wanted to die in the hands of the Ye Clan¡¯s new lord. From there, he¡¯d been focusing completely on gaining enough strength to save his father and clan from Ye Shao. ¡°So the patriarch is still alive? After all this time?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes. Father possesses the highest cultivation I know of in the prefecture: Fifth-level in the Nascent Soul Realm. He¡¯s not easy to kill, but he¡¯s not left his sickbed for seven years.¡± ¡°Why not just kill him outright now that he¡¯s poisoned?¡± ¡°Two friends of father¡¯s. Monk San Zheng and Cao Yang, keep watch over his room at all times since his poisoning. As Nascent Soul practitioners of the first-level and well-loved in the town, not even Ye Shao can make a rash move against them.¡± Aryon paused for a moment, rubbing the metal imitation of his beard. ¡®This would be a whole lot easier if I had a cleric. Bah. The one time the Dukedoms could be of use, and it¡¯s far off in the distance with Tarminas.¡¯ Aryon sighed in his heart. ¡®Well, there¡¯s that way. It¡¯ll do. I hope you know what you¡¯re doing, Arry.¡¯Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. His ruminations done, he looked at Ye Kang once more. ¡°I can heal your father.¡± Ye Kang¡¯s face took such a sudden change that his aide, Feng Yan, was startled. Desperation and hope flared in those frenzied eyes, and Ye Kang kowtowed towards him. ¡°Please do so lord! The Ye Clan will forever be in your debt.¡± ¡®That¡¯s what I¡¯m hoping for.¡¯ thought Aryon. ¡°Right. I have a plot readied for this, but you¡¯ll have to do your part.¡± Feng Yan spoke up. ¡°Lord¡­ you¡¯re not planning on breaking him out, are you? That¡¯s against the sect¡¯s will!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a good lad, Feng Yan.¡± nodded Aryon. ¡°And I don''t approve of it, myself. But some things need to be done.¡± ¡°No! Lord, He¡¯s one of the enemy!¡± Ye Kang stood up at his accusations with a face twisted in a scowl, but Aryon held a hand out to stop him. ¡°I ignored your sect¡¯s own actions in the battle that night out of courtesy to my hosts. But that doesn¡¯t mean I approved of it. I want everyone here to have a good end, and if you¡¯ll try and stop me¡­¡± ¡°Well!¡± said Aryon with a laugh. ¡°Good luck with that. ¡° He pointed at Feng Yan, his finger emanating a curious light. When the boy looked at it he suddenly fell down on the bed, unmoving and breathing peacefully. ¡°That¡¯ll last for a while.¡± he said. ¡°But I wager it won¡¯t be long until he wakes up and, like the loyal disciple he is, alert his masters.¡± Aryon stood up and drew a symbol on the back of the room¡¯s door. ¡®That¡¯ll give us a bit more time. No turning back now. You''re on your own, your highness.¡¯ ¡°W-what does lord intend to do?¡± asked the nervous Ye Kang. ¡°I want you to do something for me first.¡± he said. He came closer to Ye Kang, putting one hand on his shoulder as he stared directly at his eyes. ¡°Think about your father¡¯s room. Concentrate on that.¡±
Ye Clan Manor, Viridian Town Today was Monk San Zheng¡¯s turn to stand guard in the patriarch¡¯s quarters. He knew the patriarch, Ye Long, back in his imperial officer days, and they forged a long friendship during his tenure in the army. When the patriarch decided to venture to the colonies in the south for retirement he requested San Zheng to join him, to which he agreed. He lived a good life here under his new liege, but now he felt like a prisoner under watch. ¡®I only hope the young master is faring better.¡¯ he thought. But the current times were turbulent; from what he¡¯d heard from the gossiping guards who returned from the city some nights before, relations between the factions have all but deteriorated and they were now preparing for conflict. If that was the case¡­ ¡®Young master must be under scrutiny by the sect, or worse¡­¡¯ It took both him and Cao Yang, the head guard of the main family, to keep an eye on the patriarch and ensure the loyalty of the clan to the main house. With Ye Shao plotting in the background as well, neither had the time to see to the young master. Sighing, San Zheng sat on his customary seat right in the middle of the room. It was a sparsely decorated room, with only a table, a meditation mat for his seat and the bed where the lord lay. Most of the furniture had been moved to storage or seized by Ye Shao for his own. Giving the room a once-over with his eyes and spirit sense, he took out a scroll and a string of prayer beads and began chanting his usual prayers. As he read the words on the scroll softly, he thought in his mind. ¡®Please let the young master be s-¡¯ He suddenly opened his eyes. A great surge of spirit energy appeared in the room. Before he could even stand up to react to it, there was a flash¡­ ...And when his eyesight returned a split second later, there were two people in the room. It was an armoured man wearing a bulky but ornate set of steel plate and a white staff in one hand. And there was another on all fours on the floor, coughing and panting¡­ ¡°Young master Kang!¡± The very youth he¡¯d been thinking of had appeared all of a sudden, in the patriarch¡¯s room nonetheless! ¡°Young master! W-what, how¡­ what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be the teleportation sickness. It happens.¡± He immediately focused on the speaker, his cultivation of Nascent Soul unleashed. ¡°Who!? Who are you!? What have you done with him?¡± ¡°Elder, elder! St-stop.¡± said the youth as he steadied himself up. ¡°He¡¯s here to help.¡± Before San Zheng could say anything, the sound of many footsteps came from outside. ¡°Who? Is it Ye Shao¡¯s men?¡± said Ye Kang in a panic. ¡°Lord, we must-¡± ¡°No, young master.¡± he said. He had already probed them with his spirit sense, and one of them was all too familiar. Before those people could reach for the door, he had already come up to open it. An old, burly man with a moustache and wearing the Ye Clan¡¯s red armour stood at the forefront of several more armoured men. ¡°San Zheng! There was a spirit energy surge just now! What hap-¡± he saw the other two within the room. ¡°Who!? Wait! Young master!¡± The man was Cao Yang, Ye Long¡¯s left-hand man and de jure leader of the guard. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°No time to explain. Ye Shao or his subordinates will likely be coming here to investigate as well.¡± said the young master. ¡°Can you hold him off while we work here?¡± ¡°O-of course, young master.¡± said he in reply. ¡°San Zheng, old friend, keep an eye on the young master and¡­ him.¡± ¡°I will.¡± he replied. He watched the men spilt up and take positions near the doorway, with Cao Yang himself closing the door and standing guard before it. San Zheng turned back to face the two in the room. ¡°Now, young master, you said this man can help? How?¡± Ye Kang had no reply, turning instead to look at the armoured man. The man was bent over, looking at the patriarch lying on his sickbed while muttering in some foreign tongue. ¡°Well, it¡¯s poison alright, and not a spel- I mean, mystic art or curse.¡± ¡°Can you cure it?¡± asked Ye Kang. San Zheng and the young master moved closer to the bed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be here if I couldn¡¯t.¡± said the armoured man. ¡°But¡­ it won¡¯t be pretty.¡± Chapter Twenty-Eight: Trouble at the Ye Clan Manor (I) House in the inner sect grounds, Green Blade Forest Sect. It didn¡¯t take long for the response from Ye Shao to arrive. Just a few seconds after he closed the door, another troop of guards came up from the courtyard, heading towards the patriarch¡¯s room at a quickened pace. Cao Yang put up his most serious face and left the doorway to receive the men. Most of the guards in the clan were still loyal to him and, by extension, the main house. But the rising second branch of Ye Shao¡¯s had twisted some of the loyalties of the old guards while recruiting new ones to swell their ranks. These newly-arrived ones were from that group. They were a mix of youngsters and familiar faces, led by a relatively-young officer of Ye Shao¡¯s named Li Zhelan. ¡°Old Yang.¡± said the boy, his eyes squinting in annoyance. ¡°The lord felt a disturbance nearby, which we determined to be in the patriarch¡¯s room. Stand aside and let us do our inspection.¡± Cao Yang didn¡¯t budge, staring down at Li Zhelan. ¡°Monk San Zheng is¡­ performing a new mystic art to purge the poison from the patriarch. He has given me instructions not to be disturbed.¡± ¡°Is that so? The new mystic art might be dangerous. Isn¡¯t it your job to make sure the patriarch is safe at all times? If you won¡¯t do it, then let us take a look.¡± With that, Li Zheng tried again to pass through once more only to be blocked by Cao Yang¡¯s spear. ¡°Nobody. Goes. In.¡± he said, emphasising every syllable. His men formed up behind him, while the other guards had nervous looks on their faces. Cao Yang was seldom this scary unless they were in training. Li Zheng glared at him, ¡°You-¡±. ¡°What have you done?!¡± A cry had sounded from the room. It was San Zheng¡¯s voice. ¡°What is that?!¡± exclaimed Li Zheng. Before he could he figure it out himself another voice followed suit, loud yet apologetic. ¡°It¡¯s temporary, temporary! We just need to-¡± ¡°Foreign devil! If your mystic arts have corrupted the patriarch, I will destroy you!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s in there with the monk?!¡± said Li Zheng. ¡°I am going in.¡± With that, he pushed his way through the distracted Cao Yang and the rest of his men. ¡®The young master¡­ If he¡¯s seen¡­¡¯ Before Li Zheng could reach for the door, Cao Yang¡¯s hand had already grabbed his shoulder. With a mighty pull, he threw Li Zheng back to the guards. His men had parted or ducked out of the way of his flight, while the other guards caught their leader with their bodies in a mighty crash. He took up position between the groups once more. ¡°Nobody goes in the room.¡± he said intimidatingly. ¡°Men, protect the door. Whoever tries to go in, kill them.¡± With that, he leveled his greatspear to point at the terrified, prone guards.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡®Whatever you¡¯re doing there, San Zheng, do it fast.¡¯
When he heard the noise outside, Aryon knew he forgot to cast the Sanctum spell before starting. ¡®You¡¯re getting old again, old man.¡¯ ¡°How will this help father?!¡± exclaimed Ye Kang. ¡°Look at him!¡± Aryon did look at the ¡®patriarch¡¯. That is, he looked at the creature that was currently the patriarch. He didn¡¯t have any spell in his books to purge poisons from the body, so he had to be creative. So with a touch of his hand and a few words, he polymorphed the patriarch into a gelatinous cube. The bouncy, squishy new form of the patriarch had occupied a large part of the room¡¯s space, such that the bed and table near where he laid before were now engulfed within his new mass. They floated within the body like fish in an aquarium. ¡°I am looking.¡± he said, calmly. ¡°Look there.¡± He pointed towards the translucent, bluish cube. Specifically where a black, inky fluid was mixed in the ooze¡¯s own slime. Like black oil in clear water, it stood out clearly in the translucent body. ¡°I¡¯d wager that that¡¯s the poison.¡± said Aryon. ¡°This new form will digest the poison and neutralize it. Give it a minute or three.¡± ¡°Can this be undone?!¡± said the old monk. He was quite angry, to the point where even he can feel the power leaking out of him. ¡°It can. Just-¡± There was a crash outside, followed by some stern words from the head guard. Then came the tell-tale clash of weapons. ¡°It won¡¯t be long until Ye Shao knows of this.¡± said the monk. ¡°Let him know.¡± said Aryon. He watched as the black liquid slowly shrank before his sight. ¡°We¡¯ll have a surprise for him.¡±
The situation outside the room had ballooned into a huge melee. When the alarm was sounded by Ye Shao¡¯s men, guards from all over the mansion came over to answer. Yet not all of them took the same side. The main branch guards heeded Cao Yang¡¯s commands and kept Ye Shao¡¯s men at bay, while others were trying to break through them. Cao Yang¡¯s spear struck out like a viper, hitting arms and legs here and there. He didn¡¯t go for the kill, aiming instead to cripple the foe. He fought his way into the mansion courtyard, followed by his men and leaving a trail of defeated guards at his wake. The battle in the courtyard was intense, but the winning side was clear. The main branch guards were old veterans who had served under Ye Long during his service in the army. Led by Cao Yang and having both great personal strength and group coordination, they were able to push back the other guards to the entrance. A cordon had formed from his men, cutting the courtyard in half and preventing passage to the main house. Cao Yang strode out before it, staring down the other side that had just regrouped. Neither side made a move, only staring each other down, until a new factor entered the scene. Ye Shao himself had arrived from the neighboring mansion, accompanied by more of his guards and several imperial soldiers. Two-eye catching figures that flanked the lord¡¯s sides caught Cao Yang¡¯s attention. ¡®Nascent Soul cultivators. Probably the prince¡¯s men.¡¯ ¡°Cao Yang.¡± began the lord as he arrived before his gathered men. ¡°Are you rebelling against the family? It would be a shame to remove such an old and trusted friend of my brother from our service.¡± ¡°Your men tried to enter the patriarch¡¯s room without permission.¡± said Cao Yang coldly in reply. He looked at Ye Shao as one does his most hated foe. ¡°Hmph. As my followers, they naturally share my concerns about my brother. I¡¯ve let you and the monk keep watch over him for a long time. Yet for all that time he¡¯s never gotten up.¡¯ The lord stepped forward, looking straight at Cao Yang. ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re to blame for his long sickness?¡± ¡®He¡¯s trying to goad me.¡¯ thought Cao Yang. ¡®And it¡¯s working.¡¯ He tightened the grip on his spear. He was never the most diplomatic amongst the officers under Ye Long. ¡°No one comes into the main house until the patriarch is well.¡± said he, pointing the greatspear towards Ye Shao. ¡°I am his brother. You cannot deny me the right to see my own family.¡± said Ye Shao. ¡°Move or I¡¯ll-¡± ¡°You¡¯ll what, brother?¡± The voice that just shouted was old and weak, but hearing it gave Cao Yang a surge of strength. The crowd of guards, from both sides, shuffled turned as one towards the speaker. From out the main house came a monk supporting an underweight man, followed by an armoured figure and an adolescent boy. Upon seeing that pitiful figure near the monk, Cao Yan couldn¡¯t help but give a cry. ¡°Patriarch!¡± Chapter Twenty-Nine: Trouble at the Ye Clan Manor (II) Courtyard of the Ye Clan Manor. ¡®That¡¯s the line crossed.¡¯ thought Aryon. ¡®Now I¡¯ve really interfered with the going-ons here.¡¯ He could¡¯ve justified his previous actions as a reaction to being pushed, but the events transpiring before his eyes was all him. The curing of the patriarch, and his actions after that, will be linked to him in the end, and he will have to own up to the consequences of it all, be they good or bad. But he understood that fact. Now he needed to finish this right to the very end or see innocents pay for his callousness. ¡®I remember now why I¡¯m dead. Damn it, Arry. You¡¯ve spent too long being a weapon that you¡¯ve forgotten how be a good emissary. Being led around by girls and princes, playing hero when you¡¯ve a task to do¡­¡¯ ¡®Bah. Things were so simpler back then¡­ A wake up call, blast a few things, give some advice¡­ Then back to sleep to wait for the next king¡¯s problems. Pray that, when this is all over, our kindly liege will only lock you up in the coffin and place you under the Royal Vault forever.¡¯ He stood at the back, eyes scanning each face in the crowd while the two brothers were having their first talk in a long time. Unsurprisingly, the contents of their exchange were filled with wrath. ¡°You dared to harm your own family! How could you do this to me!?¡± ¡°Because you were weak! With your forces and your power, you could have taken all of this prefecture by now. Instead you played nice and allowed the Bai Clan to walk all over you!¡± ¡°What I did was for the good of all people here. But you wouldn¡¯t understand; you spent your days lounging around while I warred and killed. What do you know of conflict and what it brings?!¡± ¡°All I know is that you¡¯ve made this clan stagnant! Feeble! If you won¡¯t bring the Ye Clan to glory as you did before, then I will.¡± As the exchange became more heated, Aryon was singling out the biggest threats on the opposing side. There were two black-armoured practitioners near Ye Shao, from the prince¡¯s entourage given their familiar garb, that caught his attention. He nudged at the monk in front of him, whispering in his ear in a conspiratorial manner. The monk nodded in reply. It didn¡¯t take long for the argument to finish. By then, all was set in place when the two lords gave their commands. ¡°Those of you who are still loyal and true to the Ye Clan, follow me and remove these traitors!¡± ¡°Men! Kill them! We end this now!¡± A tide of red bodies collided with a similar wave of mixed black-and-red, sending out a thundering cacophony of clanging iron, cutting flesh and death-screams. Ye Shao had gone straight for his brother, his bought mace in hand. The frail-looking patriarch didn¡¯t flinch in the slightest and picked up a spear from the ground to engage him, followed by Cao Yang. The prince¡¯s two subordinates also moved in, but Aryon and his monk ally struck faster. As San Zheng moved to intercept their intended target, Aryon''s hand swept out towards their direction with a spell on his ''lips''. Bands of blue light surrounded their mark, stopping him in place. It didn¡¯t hold him for long as he mustered his Nascent Soul cultivation to break through the binding. But that moment¡¯s hesitation was all the monk needed. Chanting his mantras, the monk raised an open palm high above and swept it down on the opponent¡¯s helmed head. There came a sickening crunch of metal and bone, followed by a spurt of crimson.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡®One down.¡¯ The other Nascent Soul practitioner was too late to save his ally, so he went to attack his killer. While the monk and the prince¡¯s subordinate clashed, Ye Shao was being menaced by both Cao Yang and the patriarch. The patriarch was faring badly; seven years on a bed doesn¡¯t do one¡¯s body any good. While he was still a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator like his brother, his moves were rusty and his steps sluggish in comparison; Cao Yang had to play support and protect his liege from his own mistakes many times. But he fought with a ferocity seen only from a man freed from a long, unfair imprisonment. Ye Shao, in comparison, was fresh and armed with powerful gear. Even with the two-on-one handicap, he held his ground and took opportunities to put his sibling down when he faltered. Aryon went straight for the battling brothers, his free hand menacing with the white glow of a prepared spell. He pointed at the duelling Ye Shao with that same hand. Ye Shao was winding up another mace strike only to suddenly double over, laughing hysterically. His two opponents backed away, confused for a moment, before taking the advantage and striking at his un-armoured parts. Even with the spell afflicting him Ye Shao twisted and turned his body, narrowly avoiding lethal strikes, yet the trickle of red from the gaps in his armour betrayed his close calls with death. Now realising his dangerous situation, Ye Shao broke off from the duel and ran to his guards while his two attackers gave pursuit. Aryon was the faster one, however. He made a grasping motion with his hand, then pulled his arm backwards. Ye Shao down as if tugged, sending him on his back and actually sliding him backwards to his pursuers. Cao Yang was quick to take advantage. Arriving at Ye Shao¡¯s prone body, he raised his iron-clad boot and brought it down to his chest before putting his greatspear¡¯s point to his neck. ¡°Stand down! It¡¯s over!¡± At Cao Yang¡¯s words, the guards in combat ceased their duels and turned to the scene of him standing over Ye Shao¡¯s body. Some chose this lull in the combat to flee, which included the prince¡¯s remaining Nascent Soul lackey. Those that remained either gave a cheer or looked on at the victors with ashen faces. Ye Long quietly hobbled over to where his brother remained prone, spear pointing downwards in his hand. There was that anger still in his eyes, along with a hint of disappointment. ¡°Patriarch.¡± said monk San Zheng as he quickly approached his liege. ¡°Do not be so hasty. Fratricide is a great sin before the eyes of heaven.¡± ¡°After all he¡¯s done, you want me to be merciful to him?¡± ¡°I do not mean to be merciful. Truly, Ye Shao deserves to be punished. But would you have your brother¡¯s blood in your hands?¡± ¡°If it meant righting several wrongs and giving peace to this land, yes.¡± Aryon watched the moral debate, standing back and waiting for a decision. ¡®Whichever way they deal with the man, I hope it¡¯s lasting.¡¯ In the end, the monk¡¯s sanctimonious words convinced the patriarch. Stripped of his armour by Cao Yang, Ye Shao was lifted up by his brother and, with a surprising force from a seven-year bedridden man, was punched repeatedly in specific points of his body. Bruised and beaten, the patriarch dropped the unconcious Ye Shao to the ground. ¡°I¡¯ve crippled his cultivation, and he can no longer pose a threat to us. Take him away. I shall pass judgement on him when all is done.¡± Cao Yang had the beaten lord dragged to one of the mansion¡¯s rooms before turning his attention to the guards, loyal and otherwise. Ye Long stood by his monk friend, breathing deeply the open air as he closed his eyes to savor his victory. ¡°Where is my son? And- ah, you.¡± said the patriarch as he approached Aryon. ¡°A thousand thanks can never truly show my gratitude for your help.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all fine and good. I am glad to be of service.¡± ¡°Your method was¡­ strange, but it was what saved the lord in the end.¡± added the monk. ¡°But don¡¯t do it again.¡± Aryon nodded. ¡°Only when it¡¯s needed, I promise.¡± ¡°Is there any way I can repay you, friend?¡± asked the patriarch. ¡®Here we go.¡¯ thought Aryon. ¡°There is one way you can repay me. Can you talk to the Green Blade Forest Sect grandmaster on my behalf?.¡± ¡°Yang Kai, that old dog? I will have to talk with him soon, if what you¡¯ve told me about the situation in the prefecture is true..¡± Aryon felt relief in his non-existent heart. ¡°That¡¯s precisely why I needed you, patriarch, and why I came to help. But I¡¯m a little pressed for time.¡± He stepped up towards him, leaning down to whisper. ¡°I need you to talk with him now.¡± Chapter Thirty: Three Old Men Grandmaster¡¯s room at the top floor of the main pagoda, Green Blade Forest Sect A report on a strange phenomenon sat on the grandmaster¡¯s desk. It spoke of the guards at one of the inner sect dorms suddenly falling asleep as they entered the room Ye Kang was confined in. It took a few hours and the cooperation of a sect master to figure out what was going on and remove the problem. A mystic art none have ever seen before had been set down on the door¡¯s back. All evidence pointed to Aryon, their guest. For the lord to make off with their suspect could only mean a betrayal of sorts. Already, the elders and two masters have issued a search for the two before going out themselves to find him. Yang Kai sat on his simple meditation mat, aloof to the situation, yet he couldn¡¯t help but sigh when his gaze landed on the report. He met the Ye Clan patriarch a few decades ago, when he first arrived with his forces to Green Blade Forest. On that day, they drew their weapons against each other and dueled for the whole morning and afternoon under the eaves of the forest. Only the arrival of a sixth-rank spirit beast stopped their fight, and they cooperated to take the monster down. It was a rocky beginning to a strange friendship. After that, they became allies and talked with each other every week or so. He even took his son in at his request, promising to teach him well while he handled the growing spirit beast infestation in the forests. Ye Shao put that friendship with his sect and the Ye Clan to an end, however, when his brother was incapacitated and he became lord of the clan. He ignored Green Blade Forest Sect¡¯s territorial rights with constant trespassing and had his men start fights and arguments over resources. He could do little but respond to these small incidents with equal force. Moving against the Ye Clan would cause the Bai to make a move as well. That old fox of a lord of theirs and his equally-devious daughter wouldn¡¯t miss the chance to cripple their factions and rule the prefecture. But now things were looking grim. The Bai Clan held the Divine Imperial Smithing Technique, the prince was eyeing the prefecture, and now a direct confrontation with the Ye was approaching. If he could just talk to¡­ He stood up from his mat and looked around his spartan room. The spirit energy inside was fluctuating and gathering somewhere¡­ Then there came a flash, and the last two people he expected to see appeared just inside the room.
¡®Seeing it with my own eyes, the room looks even more bare than through a scry.¡¯ Aryon held the shaking lord steady as he doubled over, holding back the impulse to retch. Before he could look around he heard the familiar sound of a sword being drawn. ¡°Hold! Hold! We come in peace!¡± He saw the grandmaster of the sect staring at him with his sword drawn. At that moment, the runes on his armour gave off a faint glow, and a slow scratch of metal-on-metal could be heard from several places on his steel. ¡°Tell me why I shouldn¡¯t kill you where you stand, you foreign snake.¡± ¡°I brought your friend.¡± said Aryon, nudging his head towards his companion. ¡°Ye Long?!¡± Patriarch Ye composed himself and gave his greetings. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, old Kai. You¡¯ve gotten thinner.¡± Aryon felt the scratching on his armour cease, and he cancelled the emergency teleport he¡¯d been holding his concentration on.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°How did you get inside? Why are you here? ¡± asked the patriarch as he sheathed his sword. ¡°We came here to talk.¡± said Ye Long, who looked to his companion. ¡°Preferably in private.¡± added the armoured lord. ___ The three men sat on meditation mats, with only a small table separating them. A crude map of the prefecture had been laid out before them, with Aryon beginning the conversation by pointing at the main city. ¡°If you want peace, then there¡¯s two problems to that goal. One is the prince and his forces. And the other¡­¡± said he as he tapped his finger on the city landmark. ¡°...Will be that woman, Bai Hua.¡± Aryon continued. ¡°She hasn¡¯t fled the city as of yet, and from what I saw in my brief tour she still had enough to patrol the city and man its walls, expressing confidence in holding back the prince for a while. When I told her about dealing with Ye Shao, she spoke confidently of removing the clan in one fell swoop with an attack after assassinating him.¡± Yang Kai stroked his long, white beard. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be so. The Bai Clan suffered hardest in the hands of the prince and our own cultivators during the battle in the city. She couldn''t have enough men to do all this, so why?.¡± ¡°I do not know, either. Perhaps she recruited the cultivators from the city?¡± ¡°A militia composed of that will be unreliable at most. Not all will follow, and that also would require payments, of which she¡¯ll have little since her purchase of the scroll. She¡¯ll be tight on spending it.¡± ¡°Unless she had help.¡± added Ye Long. Aryon rubbed the back of his armoured neck. ¡°Who, then? It must be a strong helper to give her confidence in dealing with all of you and the prince.¡± There was a pause between the three before Ye Long spoke up. ¡°The Zhao Clan.¡± ¡°The merchants from the auction house?¡± Aryon asked. ¡°Mm. Yes. That does make sense.¡± chimed in Yang Kai. ¡°Given their deep foundations, only they could have the power to bestow anything good here in the prefecture. A few hundred thousand spirit stones or a secret force will be an unnoticeable loss for them.¡± Ye Long nodded. ¡°The Bai Clan have lived in Dragon Border Gate City for so long, so they should have had some secret agreements with the treasure palace there. The question now is why would they help them?¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the prince. He¡¯s the only new factor here in the prefecture.¡± answered Aryon. ¡°On further thinking, that impulsive royal might have done something to offend this clan.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible. Tang Heng has always been the rashest of his siblings.¡± said Ye Long. ¡°He¡¯s been known to seize trade goods and merchants¡¯ stocks to fuel his conflicts.¡± ¡°The shadowy actions also lends some evidence to the Zhao¡¯s involvements.¡± added Yang Kai. ¡°Dealing with foes through others has always been their style to maintain their neutrality. Bai Hua would be the perfect catspaw for them.¡± ¡°Deal with a prince and get a secret technique. Plus a prefecture as a bonus.¡± wondered Aryon aloud. ¡®I should¡¯ve been the royal accountant. Money is the greatest magic still.¡¯ ¡°So now we can assume that she has this Zhao Clan on her side, and their hidden resources.¡± he continued. ¡°How do we deal with all that? She¡¯s likely expecting retaliation from all sides given her current position.¡± ¡°If we cut off the head of the snake, the body will stop moving.¡± said Yang Kai decisively. ¡°And the rest of the clan?¡± ¡°Perishes with the young mistress.¡± Before Aryon could retort to that, Ye Long spoke up first. ¡°Killing her and the clan might invite some long term repercussions with the Zhao, if they see us interrupting their plans.¡± ¡°You are still soft-hearted, Ye Long. She will no doubt plot against us once more if she were let alive.¡± ¡°I agree with him.¡± interrupted Aryon, relieved. It felt good to have another voice of reason by his side. ¡°Killing her might disrupt the peace you want. Plus there¡¯s her father yet to be accounted for. Do you want him to return in vengeance?¡± Yang Kai sighed. ¡°Fine. So how do we deal with her?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take her some time to make a move. Women like her act on information. How long does it take to reach the city from the Ye Clan¡¯s town?¡± ¡°Half a day.¡± said Ye Long. ¡°Our advantage here, then, is speed and the fact that our vipress doesn¡¯t know of our meeting here. The trick will be to move faster than her informants and deceive them, and I can make our next moves do both quite effectively. I¡¯ll lay some of my cards on the table, and I trust that you two to cooperate if you want to strongarm the woman into a deal.¡± Aryon flexed his shoulders out of habit. ¡°We¡¯ve until tomorrow at most to set our plans in motion before she can capitalize on the Ye Clan¡¯s situation. If three old men like us will be outmaneuvered by a girl in her twenties, then I have a coffin we can all lie in together.¡±